Road Safety Authority begins multi-disciplinary investigations into accident which claimed 35 lives

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has commenced a multi-disciplinary investigation into the gory accident which claimed 35 lives on the Elmina-Komenda highway on Tuesday.

Twenty-five others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

An eye witness said a Takoradi-bound bus with registration number GR 5704-18 tried to overtake but failed and collided with a Cape Coast-bound vehicle with registration number GN 3780-10.

He explained that one of the drivers had his head completely chopped off and the rest of his body trapped in the mangled vehicle.

A statement issued by the NRSA said: “While we commiserate with the families of victims of this incident, the Authority has according to its mandate commissioned a multi-disciplinary investigation into the crash to determine the contributory factors and institutional lapses that may have accounted for the crash”.

“The Authority will wish to assure the motoring public that, it is taking appropriate steps to exert some control on the operations of commercial (passenger and freight) road transport organisations.

“These steps include a vigorous sensitisation of the operators of the new mandate of the Authority, training of some 13,000 high-risk commercial drivers as well as the development of a Legislative Instrument for the regulation of road transport operations under the National Road Safety Authority Act, 2019 (Act 993),” it said.

It added that: “in the interim, the public is reminded that road safety is a way of life that can be achieved by observing basic safety precautions on speeding, wrongful overtaking, fatigue and distractive driving, while passengers are expected to assume front line roles by speaking up against driver misbehaviour.