The Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has called for a National Road Crash Victims Support Fund to assist victims, particularly in situations where vehicles involved in crashes are not insured.
He said the proposed fund could also be used to support children of parents who lost their lives in crashes to ensure their education and welfare were not disrupted.
“Even though it is an offence not to insure a vehicle, there are recalcitrant drivers. The fund can be used to assist victims, especially in situations where parents die and leave behind children who need to continue schooling,” he explained.
Mr Amaliba spoke to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the launch of the Mantrac Road Safety Campaign in Accra.
The month-long campaign, a collaboration between Mantrac Ghana and the NRSA, will include media engagements, sensitisation exercises, publicity drives and webinars.
It will also feature a two-day sensitisation programme for Mantrac staff in Accra, Tarkwa, Takoradi and Kumasi to prepare them as road safety advocates.
He noted that Ghanaian law required every vehicle owner to secure at least a third-party insurance policy to ensure victims of crashes were compensated.
However, challenges arose when drivers failed to take insurance cover, leaving victims in a precarious situation.
“As a lawyer, I have helped people pursue compensation through insurance after crashes. The problem, however, is when the driver fails to insure the vehicle and still gets involved in an accident. What then happens to the victims? That is a grey area,” he said.
He added that in such cases, matters often ended up in court where compensation was determined on a fault-based system.
If the driver was found liable, they would be charged to pay compensation and could face penalties.
Mr Amaliba also acknowledged the work of Accident Victims Support Ghana, describing it as a laudable voluntary initiative deserving every support.
“Since I took over, I have heard about them. I think that we may have to escalate it and see how we can support them, but that is voluntary. I am thinking that we can amend our laws to establish a national fund,” he said.
The Director-General urged drivers to exercise restraint on the road, saying: “They should kill their speed before speed kills them.”
“Motorisation was never meant to kill people. Road transport was intended to help the movement of people, but it is now turning into a canker because of the increasing deaths from road crashes.”
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