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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