The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, told the Ghana News Agency that a good measure of vigilance on the part of passengers, was crucial to curtailing road accidents in the country and promote safety on the roads.

Police Superintendent (Supt) Alexander Kwaku Obeng, MTTD Director in charge of Education, Research and Training explained that sometimes, passengers risked their lives by joining rickety vehicles.

 He said even when a number of factors indicated that it was not safe to join such a vehicle, passengers overlook some of these tell-tale signs and board rickety vehicles leading to avoidable injury and even death.

 Supt. Obeng said there were a number of things that passengers should look out for when joining a vehicle, be it public or private. “The appearance of the driver could give you an idea of his level of responsibility and the way he would comport himself on the road,” he said, adding that, a driver who smelt of alcohol and looked disorganised and unkempt, did not deserve to move any car.

He said, inattentive and dangerous behaviour such as fidgeting with the phone whiles driving, not paying due attention to road signs and signals are indication for passengers to caution the driver.

He said the look of a vehicle could also give a lot of basic information.

Supt Obeng said a vehicle that looked rickety for example or had worn out tyres, had to be rejected by any passenger who valued safety.  He advised passengers to either ask drivers to stop behaving or driving recklessly, or get out of the vehicles.

“Why would you keep quiet as a passenger, when a driver deliberately stops on a hill or a blind curve, risking your life and that of others? “Our roads would be much safer if passengers were well educated on their responsibilities and caution drivers to ensure road safety”.