KITEKO, OLI BEST ROAD SAFETY ORGANIZATION TRAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVERS BENEFIT AGAINST ROAD ACCIDENTS

The alarming statistics of road accidents and its related casualties in the country have become a concern to many transport operators, as a result of which some have resolved to adopt measures to counter the menace.

One of such transport company is Kitako Ghana Limited, a large transport and logistics company which engages in hauling of cocoa, cashew, cement, tiles, fuel, black oil and other consumables like cooking oil and rice, has partnered Oli Best Road Safety Organisation (OBR), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), to train Kitako drivers as a way of sharpening their skills and for better delivery of services.

In all, about 190 long vehicles (articulator trucks) and tanker drivers of the company completed two days training at the Crystal Rose Ambassador Hotel last Friday at Ahodwo in Kumasi.

The Director of OBS, Mr. Richard Karikari, who took the participants through accident prevention, emphasised on the lack of pre-departure checks on vehicles, bad attitude of drivers, fatigue, and poor road networks as some of the bad driving practices that cause road accidents.

The road safety expert said Kitako drivers received similar training from OBR in 2018, and reports indicated that it had improved the skills of drivers of the company, and helped reduce accident rates drastically.

Mr. Karikari said it was important to engage the drivers regularly for such exercises, because it helps a lot in reducing road accidents, and appealed to other transport and hauling companies which engaged the services of large numbers of drivers to consult OBR for similar training exercises.

The Ashanti Regional Planning Officer of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr. Emmanuel A. Parry, advised the drivers to uphold the principles of defensive driving, which included concentration, observation, anticipation and tolerance (COAT), and stressed that in spite of “the conditions around you as a driver, and actions of others, one must be a defensive driver by saving life, time and money.”

The General Manager of Kitako Ghana Limited, Mr. Akwasi Onyina Acheampong, explained that the training equipped the drivers with the requisite skills and attitudes of good driving to better serve their numerous clientele, and for the sustainability of the company.

Mr. Acheampong explained that topics treated at the training included road safety, customer care, and the essence of drivers to their business.