Superintendent Stella Sedame, the Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Monday in Sunyani.

She said 344 commercial and 169 private vehicles respectively and 209 motor cycles were involved in the crashes whilst 244 persons died and 788 received various degrees of injuries.Supt. Sedame said the breakdown of the deaths were - males above 18 years, were 179 but those below 18 years -18, whilst females over 18 years- 41 and those under 18 years were 15.

She said the number of road crashes in the region could be reduced further if drivers drove carefully because most of the accidents were the result of “human slip-ups” which could have been prevented.

Supt. Sedame urged drivers to obey road traffic regulations and thoroughly check if their vehicles were in good condition to drive before getting off on road.“A good driver is the one who reaches destinations safely and not the one who over speeds to endanger the lives of passengers”, she said.

Supt. Sedame said the Department would continue to intensify road safety campaign to sensitise drivers at the various lorry parks in addition to the use of radio to reach out to drivers for them to observe driving best practices.

She advised drivers to value the lives of pedestrians and respect them as co-users of the roads.