A Traditional leader has condemned the practice of holding funerals in the middle of major roads within the towns and cities, describing it as a “nuisance, dangerous and unacceptable”.
He said it does not matter whether there is a permit or not because any vehicle plying the road unknowingly at an appreciable speed can cause havoc to mourners, in the event of a brake failure.
Nana Twafour Baah Ababio, Chief of Kwabre Anyinasu, in the Ashanti region, made these remarks in an interview with The Chronicle during the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims jointly organised by the New Tafo Seventh Day Adventist Church and Oli Best Road Safety Organisation (OBR) last Saturday in Kumasi.
He said this emerging trend of organising funerals in the middle of public roads, especially in the Ashanti region, is not “a good practice and, therefore, unacceptable”.
The Chief has, therefore, advised the law enforcement agencies, particularly the police and the various city authorities to ensure that sanity prevails in this regard.
Nana Twafour Baah Ababio, who is also a Patron of Oli Best Road Safety Organisation, lamented that the yearly Road Accident Statistics is alarming and that the only way to reduce the number of accidents on the road is through road safety education and enforcement of road safety regulations.
He said the essence of automobiles is to make life easier for mankind but this is rather becoming a curse than a blessing, and emphasised that it is possible to reduce road accidents because it is human beings who drive the automobiles and not the vice versa.
The Chief also advised the MTTD officials to strictly enforce discipline on the roads and explained that if “you allowed a defective vehicle or a reckless driver to pass through your checkpoints, you cannot guarantee what happens thereafter,” and admonished them to also frequently organise road safety education for the various transport unions.
Mr. Richard Karikari, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OBR explained that he is always hesitant to talk about Road Accident Data because research has shown that several road accidents are not reported to the police and, therefore, not captured onto these data.
He said his focus, instead, is on what can be done to reduce road crashes to the barest minimum, including passenger empowerment to either caution or cause the arrests of reckless drivers.
Mr. Karikari said the theme for this year’s event, which is ‘Put The Spotlight On Justice’ was appropriate. He charged the National Insurance Commission and the police to always consider the trauma and agony accident victims go through in pursuit of insurance claims as part of justice.
From Thomas Agbenyegah Adzey, Kumasi
