Task Force To Manage Road Carnage

Task Force

The Road Safety Management Services Ltd (RSMSL), a private company, was establish in direct response to the call of the former President of Ghana, H.E. John Atta-Mills for Public-Private Partnership towards the reduction of road traffic accidents and crime prevention in the cities and on the highways.

The high incidence of reckless driving as well as numerous abandonment of broken down vehicles in the middle of our roads and highways without adequate and proper advance warning devices have been identified by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service as major causes of accidents in the country.

Apart from the carnage on the roads, security has also become a major concern especially at accident sites.

In its efforts to manage road crashes, RSMSL has put in place mechanisms with respect to manpower and logistics that will facilitate the reduction to the barest minimum, the spate of road accidents in the country.

With the assistance of the NRSC and the Ghana Police Service, RSMSL has established the Road Safety Management Task Force (RSMTF), a unit that comprises young and energetic youth, who will assist the Ghana Police in the promotion of public safety and security.

The RSMTF personnel will also be involved in reporting accidents and taking inventory at the accidents scene and traffic management.

To implement this strategy, the RSMSL intends to establish depots/ and rest stops along major roads and highways in the country based on noted accident spots.

3,000 youth would be recruited in phases from various districts across the country into the Road Safety Management Task Force. At the behest of the Inspector General of Police, Paul Tawiah Quaye, a Police Technical team collaborated with the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development and RSMSL to recruit over 1500 youth from various districts as RSMSTF.

Specialized training sessions have been held for 200 personnel. The first batch was trained at the Police Depot in Kumasi. They passed out on 30th June 2012 after two weeks specialized training by the police in various fields of road management, safety and security. They are now at post at their various local communities.

The RSMTF shall be engaged in a number of activities including towing services management where they will patrol accident prone roads and notify the service provider (RSMLS) or the police about a broken down vehicle or trailer for recovery purposes, assist RSMSL to tow vehicle operators to the nearest Police Station/ RSMLS depot and undertake mobile patrol to locate broken down vehicles for recovery.

They will also be involved in accident scene management and the RSMTF staff will be the first to arrive at the scene of road traffic accident.

They shall be directly responsible for taking charge of the accident scene to ensure sanity, aiding injured persons, if any, taking note of the deceased, re-opening the road to normal traffic, informing the nearest Police Station of the accident, preserving evidence at the scene of the accident, ensuring that drivers and witnesses will be available or can be traced for later investigations and recording all materials which may assist in the investigation of the accident.