The National Road Safety Authority, together with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and with support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, has launched the “Stop Speeding” mass media campaign to sensitize drivers on the need to follow speed limits to save lives.

The campaign reminds drivers to slow down during the Easter season, a peak travel period when statistics show that road crashes increase.

Speed management remains one of the biggest challenges facing road safety practitioners around the world and calls for a concerted, long-term, multidisciplinary response. Speed directly influences the risk of a crash as well as the severity of injuries sustained, and the likelihood of death resulting from that crash.

During the launch event, Acting Director General of the National Road Safety Authority Ing. David Osafo Adonteng reiterated the need for drivers to reduce their speed on the roads, “I believe strongly that this campaign, which is coordinated with massive speed enforcement, will help us change the narrative around road safety and record fewer crashes and fatalities on our roads. Speed limits are in place to keep all road users safe—it is critical that they be followed.”

Speed management is essential to improving road safety, in Ghana. The latest Status Summary Reports released by the Johns Hopkins International Injury and Research Unit shows that on local and collector roads in Accra and Kumasi, 92% and 89% of drivers speed, respectively. This concerning percentage of speeding drivers emphasizes the need for stakeholders to work towards reducing speeds on our roads. However, improving compliance with speed limits is not an easy task. Many drivers do not recognize the risks involved and often the perceived advantages of speeding outweigh the perceived problems that can result. Safe, reliable and affordable transit is important for people’s work and personal lives as well as for economic development.

The “Stop Speeding” campaign focuses on the enforcement of speed limits and will disseminate messages on the dangers of speeding while police conduct significant enforcement operations. The mass media campaign will undertake the following activities:

1. Sensitization of drivers heading to Kwahu for the Easter festivities on the need to slow down as they drive and increased police speed enforcement on the Kwahu road.

2. Television and radio publicity of the “Stop Speeding” public service announcements (PSA) to advise drivers to slow down or risk being arrested for speeding.

3. Out-of-home billboards and flyers, as well as stickers behind cars with the campaign’s message.

4. Social media publicity of all campaign PSA’s further cautioning motorists to slow down as they drive.

5. A TV PSA played in all long-journey buses traveling from Accra to the other regions in the country.

6. Massive police enforcement in Accra, Kumasi and on some intercity highways.

The “Stop Speeding” campaign was developed as a result of data that showed the prevalence of speeding on roads in Ghana. The data showed that cars and SUV’s speed the most and pedestrians are the most affected during crashes.

“The estimated 1.19 million people killed on the world’s roads each year indicates that roads are still being built to prioritize moving vehicles—not for moving people,” said Asmeret Nigus, Technical Advisor, Africa, for Vital Strategies’ Road Safety Program. “Safer streets for all is an attainable goal. But it requires governments to prioritize those most at risk—pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists—to reduce the likelihood and the severity of crashes. We congratulate the National Road Safety Authority, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly on their joint efforts to launch the “Stop Speeding” campaign. Mass media campaigns paired with enforcement of traffic laws, like this one in Ghana, can motivate drivers to follow posted speed limits and make safer streets for everyone.”

BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES INITIATIVE FOR GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) works with the world’s leading road safety organizations to design strategies, implement activities and coordinate with in-country governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders. We place an emphasis on achieving outcomes, and on using high-quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to continually assess our program’s progress. BIGRS reflects Bloomberg Philanthropies’ vision that progress can be achieved both locally and nationally. Implementation of programs at the local level complements national level policy progress. For more information please visit: https://www.bloomberg.org/program/public-health/road-safety/#solution