Sunday, June 17, 2012

90% OF DRIVERS DO NOT WEAR SEAT BELTS IN CAPE COAST


 
By Arabella Anderson
Seat belt
Over two days, CENTRAL PRESS monitored the amount drivers wearing seat belts, in two separate locations. The first Location was an intersection at Pedu Junction, where out of 213 drivers observed 12 were wearing seat belts.
At the second location Cape Coast University, The incidents of drivers wearing seat belts were higher then the intersection. Here only 143 drivers were counted, and 27 of them were wearing seat belts. Still this is significantly low when you consider that it is in fact against the law for anyone in the vehicle not be wearing a seat belt.
The Central Regional Manager at the National Road Safety Commission, Stephen Anokye quoted that the law states any driver or passenger in a car over the age of 18 is responsible for their own safety and is required to wear a seat belt. If they disobey this law, they can be fined from 1200 to 2500 Ghana cedis.
Mr.  Anokye denied that the disregard for road safety and the law has anything to do with lack of education. He listed a large variety of ways in which his commission ensures people are fully informed on the laws. This includes road safety seminars at schools, weekly demonstrations on television and over the radio. Despite this he is aware that the law is rarely acknowledged and believes it is as simple as ‘the drivers refuse to obey.’
 Of course, it must be acknowledge that while the drivers may well be aware of the Law it is obvious that law enforcement officials are rarely enforcing it. On the first day of conducting the survey, I did witness a driver being pulled over and questioned about not wearing a seat belt but I had the distinct feeling that this had more to do with my presence and cause more then anything else. The officer seemed to be making quite a show of this one arrest out of the 201 other civilians I had seen within that hour breaking the law.
Mr. Anokye says that his outfit can educate and instruct as much as possible, but the police are in charge of the arrest and it is the duty of the court to follow up on the case and ensure the defendant attends court and carries out their sentence. On this topic he openly admits that personal connections commonly affect the carrying out of proper legal protocol. He says ‘ in Ghana we are like a family’ according to Anokye if a person gets in trouble with the law they or someone close to them who has a connection with someone in law enforcement will use this connection for their benefit and avoid a proper punishment.  He reveals ‘it is hard to turn them down.’
Hard or not, referencing personal connections above the law are an abusive of power and illegal in itself. The seat belt rule is in place for a reason. Seat belt save lives. While a connection with a police officer may help you avoid a fine for not wearing a seat belt, it is not going to save your life, if you ignore the rules and you are in a crash.
Mr. Stephen Anokye is correct in saying that Individuals need to start taking responsibility for their own safety. He says that people need to educate each other. ‘If you get in a taxi and your driver is not wearing a seat belt, let him know.’ However, on top of this, those whose job it is to enforce the law if this deadly trend is ever going to be over turned must carry out firmer punishment and strict regulation of the law.

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