The Inspector General of Police,(IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare has urged drivers to adhere to the road safety regulations to ensure that road carnages are reduced in the country.

He said drivers must ensure safety especially during the yuletide to ensure that lives and properties were saved.

Dr Dampare made the call during an engagement with transport operators at the Neoplan Station in Accra yesterday.

The meeting, the first of its kind, was to engage with the members in the transport industry to address issues and seek ways in addressing them.

Some of the issues that were discussed include causes of road accidents, highway robberies, alleged extortion by some police personnel, fatigue driving, road engineering, and law enforcement.

In attendance were unions such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Concern Drivers Association, Progressive Transport Owners’ Association and members of the Police Management Boards.

Dr Dampare said transport operators were important in the development of the country’s economic and needed to be engaged to ensure they were safe at all times.

The IGP stressed the need to collaborate with the transport operators to ensure that road crashes were reduced and precious lives and properties saved.

“We have done education, enforcing, engineering and emergency support in road safety management over the years but the accidents are still high so we have decided to involve transport operators on issues so as to plan how to curb road accidents, ’’ he added

He encouraged passengers to report misconduct of drivers to their transport executives for necessary action.

The IGP assured the transport operators of Police Administration’s continuous support to address their concerns to boost the sector.

The Director-General of Administration of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno assured the drivers of the Police Administration’s continuous efforts in ensuring that highway robberies were reduced in the country.

He said police personnel had been deployed from Accra to give support to their colleagues on the highways including the Atebubu, Kintampo and Tamale and Walewale.

“We are ready as a Police Service to ensure that there is sanity on the roads to ensure precious lives and properties were saved, ’’he added

He urged the transport operators to have resting rooms to ensure that drivers take their rest and avoid fatigue.

COP Yohuno appealed to the operators to have two drivers on board vehicles for long journey.

The Director of Police Public Relations, Superintendent of Police (Supt) Alexander Kweku Obengstated that from January to October this year 13,244 road accidents involving 12,898 injuries and 2,380 deaths

He said the crashes involved 8,746 commercial and 9,690 private vehicles and 5,052 motorcycles

The General Secretary of the GPRTU, Mr GodfredAbulbire, on behalf of the transport operators commended the Police Administration for the initiative and called for more of such collaboration.

He said such collaboration was crucial to help ensure sanity on the road.

BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI & CONNIELOVE DZODZEGBE