By Jeorge Wilson KINGSON
Ghana will soon join countries like Australia, New Zealand and some states in the United States of America (USA) which have banned mobile phone usage while driving. This follows the commitment of some Members of Parliaments to spearheaded the passage of legislation to ban the practice and introduce the imposition of spots fines on offenders.
A statement made in the House last week by the MP for Ahafo-Ano North, Richard Akuoko Adiyia to this effect was hailed by others members of the House who promised to support the move respectively.
“I believe the move could contribute immensely in curbing accidents on our roads. Of course I am aware of the difficulties sponsoring such legislation, left alone its enforcement but I believe there should be a concrete effort to invest in this additional legislation and enforcement of existing legislations and empowering the capacities of related institutions on improving and promoting road safety”, Adiyia stated.
According to him the country spends about US$162 million annually on medical expenses of victims, damage to vehicles among others which represent 1.6% of gross domestic products as a result of road accidents.
He said though authorities of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), the Ghana Police Service and other researchers into the causes of accidents claim they have no figures or statistics to prove that the use of mobile phones while driving is a major cause of accidents in the country, they believe it could be a major contributory factor.
“Nonetheless, some psychologists have drawn a correlation between dual tasking and distraction leading to accidents. In a remark conducted by Adriana Bianchi of the psychology department of Mensah University in Australia, she concludes that driving simulation studies indicate that dual tasking such as using a mobile phone while driving can be detrimental to driving performance.
Dr. Yaw Osei, head of psychiatry at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, has indicated that information received in a conversation can be devastating enough to alter the performance of a driver at a particular moment which can lead to road accidents.
He gave the example that receiving information while driving that your child has been knocked down and in a critical condition could alter the concentration of the driver performance
The MP said his motivation to spearhead the bill is also to the increasing numbers in road accidents in recent times and the urge to be involved in preventing more of them.
Ghana will soon join countries like Australia, New Zealand and some states in the United States of America (USA) which have banned mobile phone usage while driving. This follows the commitment of some Members of Parliaments to spearheaded the passage of legislation to ban the practice and introduce the imposition of spots fines on offenders.
A statement made in the House last week by the MP for Ahafo-Ano North, Richard Akuoko Adiyia to this effect was hailed by others members of the House who promised to support the move respectively.
“I believe the move could contribute immensely in curbing accidents on our roads. Of course I am aware of the difficulties sponsoring such legislation, left alone its enforcement but I believe there should be a concrete effort to invest in this additional legislation and enforcement of existing legislations and empowering the capacities of related institutions on improving and promoting road safety”, Adiyia stated.
According to him the country spends about US$162 million annually on medical expenses of victims, damage to vehicles among others which represent 1.6% of gross domestic products as a result of road accidents.
He said though authorities of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), the Ghana Police Service and other researchers into the causes of accidents claim they have no figures or statistics to prove that the use of mobile phones while driving is a major cause of accidents in the country, they believe it could be a major contributory factor.
“Nonetheless, some psychologists have drawn a correlation between dual tasking and distraction leading to accidents. In a remark conducted by Adriana Bianchi of the psychology department of Mensah University in Australia, she concludes that driving simulation studies indicate that dual tasking such as using a mobile phone while driving can be detrimental to driving performance.
Dr. Yaw Osei, head of psychiatry at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, has indicated that information received in a conversation can be devastating enough to alter the performance of a driver at a particular moment which can lead to road accidents.
He gave the example that receiving information while driving that your child has been knocked down and in a critical condition could alter the concentration of the driver performance
The MP said his motivation to spearhead the bill is also to the increasing numbers in road accidents in recent times and the urge to be involved in preventing more of them.
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