NSRA clarifies statement on ‘women-buttocks’ causing accidents
The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has clarified its statement on ‘women-buttocks’ being a source of driver inattentiveness.
This follows a statement made on Citi FM’s Auto Show programme by the NRSA Public Relations Manager on March 28, 2024, about distracted driving as a cause of Road Traffic Crashes in Ghana.
The NRSA in a statement said its representative sought to give examples of such real-life situations of visual or cognitive distractions including fidgeting with phones and radio, and ‘buttocks-watching’ by some male drivers.
“While the Authority confirms that distracted driving or driver inattentiveness constitutes a major threat to road traffic crashes, the Authority has yet to conduct a specific study on ‘women-buttocks’ as a source of driver inattentiveness except for the feedback from other road users including drivers and global examples,” it added.
The NRSA explained that distracted driving was a serious and growing global threat to road safety and was manifest in various forms including manual distractions, visual distractions, and cognitive distractions.
It said driver inattentiveness may arise from situations when a driver is unable to fully concentrate on the road due to visual or cognitive distraction from watching scenic views of all forms on the road.
The NRSA said the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 761) considers careless and inconsiderate driving (driving without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for other persons) as a major road traffic offence with a penalty of two hundred penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding forty months or both.
“With this clarity, we would respectfully entreat that discussions around road safety during the Easter period should be focused on Speeding. Motorists must travel at a safe speed and passengers should speak up against all forms of misbehaviour including high speeds, wrongful overtaking, the use of mobile phones while driving and other forms of distractions,” it added.