GPRTU fights impending ban on night travels
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), has kicked against the government’s proposal to ban late-night travels.
This is part of measures to reduce road accidents.
This comes days after an accident on the Kintampo road left at least 30 passengers dead.
The two buses, which collided head-on, caught fire, trapped their passengers in the buses and burnt them beyond recognition.
Even though the government said the nature of the Kintampo highway was perfect, the drivers and their union disagree.
‘One bus carried petrol’ – Ambulance officer identifies three mistakes in Kintampo road carnage
According to them, the accidents were caused by the poor nature of the roads, contrary to claims by road safety experts that the accidents were caused by human error.
The First Trustee of GPRTU, John Tetteh, told Citi FM that the government must explore other options.
“When you ban night travelling, it wouldn’t solve the problem. Are we the only nation that travels at night? Other nations travel at night, so let’s do the right thing,” he said.
Meanwhile, some drivers blamed the recurring accidents on the country’s deplorable roads.
“Most of the accidents are not caused by drivers. Almost all our roads are in poor states and most of the roads are single-lanes. The roads are just bad. I’ve heard the minister argue that the Kintampo road is good, and such accidents shouldn’t have happened there. To me, the accidents on that road are caused by a spirit,” a driver said.
Another driver said, “Our roads are bad, so when a driver overtakes a car, it is likely to result in an accident. When the roads are good, there will be no accident, and drivers will not be tired.”