NRSA Blames Urban Roads Department for Malfunctioning Traffic Lights.
According to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), the Urban Roads Department is solely responsible for the widespread malfunctioning traffic lights in Ghana’s urban centers, and the resulting accidents.
As of June 2022, 48% of traffic lights across the country are dysfunctional, with Greater Accra accounting for 33 and the Ashanti Region for 24. Bono East has 10, Western Region has nine, Bono has seven, Volta Region has five, Eastern Region has three, and Upper East has three.
In an interview on Sunday, Kwame Koduah Atuahene, the Director of Regulations, Impact, and Compliance at the National Road Safety Authority, said that the Department of Urban Roads has not shown enough commitment to solving the problem, and efforts should be made to reduce road fatalities.
Despite the fact that no agency in the country has access to the required funds to carry out its functions, there is an urgent need to prioritize the issue of dysfunctional lights.
Atuahene expressed regret that although accidents occur in Accra, Kumasi, Eastern Region, and elsewhere, the department has not demonstrated enough passion or taken the necessary steps to minimize the stress associated with using the roads.
Reverend Cyril Crabbe, the President of an NGO, Accident Victims Support Ghana, has urged the Department of Urban Roads to immediately deploy men to various traffic intersections as schools reopen next week to prevent further road carnage.
He suggested the installation of “road furniture” on roads to ensure pedestrian safety. He believes we should think about pedestrians, especially now that schools are about to reopen, as we have seen many students dying at intersections due to a lack of traffic lights.