Political Parties Urged To Prioritize Child Vehicular Safety In Their Policy Plans
As Ghana’s main political parties unveil their manifestos for the 2024 elections, LADA Institute, a multi-disciplinary not-for-profit organisation, is emphasizing the need for child vehicular safety to be a top priority in the next government’s agenda.
The Project Manager of the Institute, Ms. Shirley Haizel-Ferguson, made this call on the sidelines of the launch of the Road Safety Code of Practice for Political Activities by the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) in Accra.
Speaking to the media, she noted that there is the need to amend existing laws to allow for mandatory use of child restraints systems and seatbelts for children in line with global best practices, while enhancing enforcement of the existing laws.
She urged all political parties to integrate critical safety measures into their plans as they embark on their campaigns, to ensure a safer transportation environment for the nation’s children.
Among other things, the Road Safety Code of Practice for Political Activities provides guidelines for monitoring the movement of convoys, night travels by political actors, transportation of party supporters, safety of pedestrians, and the use of motorcycles during campaigns.
The Director General of the NRSA, Ing. David Osafo-Adonteng, highlighted the importance of the Code, given the disturbing trend of road crashes, injuries, and deaths during election seasons and urged political parties to exercise caution and ensure the safety of their supporters and actors as they traverse the country for campaigns, stressing that safety should not be compromised in the pursuit of votes.
While commending the NRSA for leading in the development of the Code of Conduct, Ms. Haizel-Ferguson urged the political parties to embrace the Code not merely as an obligation but as a solemn duty to the countless lives lost to road accidents, keeping in mind that every life lost on the road is a preventable tragedy.
She noted that as representatives of civil society, LADA Institute would play its part in holding political parties accountable to the Code and for any lives lost on the roads as a result of politicking.
The document was developed in collaboration with the political parties and key partners including the Ghana Police Service, Electoral Commission, and Civil Society Organisations in road safety, LADA Institute, StreetSense, Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and CUTS International.
