NRSA to prosecute footbridge offenders

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has warned of imminent prosecution and surcharging of pedestrians who fail to use footbridges that have been provided at vantage points to ensure their safety.

It said it was unacceptable that although the government had invested millions of Ghana cedis to provide those pedestrian bridges to improve road safety, some persons still jaywalked and abandoned those facilities.

The acting Director-General of the NRSA, Abraham Amaliba, stated that whatever action would be taken was within the remit of its legal powers.

”Looking at the law that established NRSA, we have the power to enforce the strict use of the road; we also have the power to issue compliance notices and to surcharge.

“People who offend the laws must be ready to be prosecuted, surcharged and fined for failure to use the footbridges,” he stressed.

Mr Amaliba stated this during an inspection tour of some footbridges and other pedestrian crossing facilities at Tetegu, Kawukudi, Lapaz and Atomic Junction in the Greater Accra Region.

The exercise was meant to assess the current state of those facilities and identify any areas that required improvement to ensure the safety and convenience of pedestrians.

Aside from the footbridges, he also inspected the state of pedestrian walkways, road markings, zebra crossings and street lights. 

Context

Experts in road safety say footbridges help to reduce pedestrian-vehicular interaction and the incidence of pedestrian crashes.

Some pedestrians risking their lives under a footbridge

It is for this reason that the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I 2180) make it mandatory for pedestrians to use footbridges that have been provided at designated sections of highways to prevent road crashes.

Section 154(3) of L.I 2180 states: “A pedestrian who fails to use a footbridge or an underpass where one is provided, commits an offence.”

Section 154(10) of L.I 2180 also states: “A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than five penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not more than seven days or to both.”

Although these regulations exist, the law has not been enforced over the years, creating room for recalcitrant pedestrians to abandon footbridges and put their lives and those of other road users on the line.

The failure of members of the public to use footbridges and the taking over of pedestrian walkways by traders have contributed to road crashes, injuries and deaths over the years.

A comprehensive analysis of road traffic statistics from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) revealed that between 1991 and 2023, 58,156 persons died from 351,278 road crashes across the country, while 461,432 others suffered varying degrees of injury.

Mr Amaliba said the NRSA would go all out to enforce compliance and also ensure that footbridges were put to good use to minimise pedestrian knockdowns and deaths.

He stated that the enforcement of the penalty regime for failure to use the footbridges would be preceded by public engagement and intensive education on the need to adhere to the law.

The lawyer stressed that his preoccupation was to ensure safer roads by ensuring that there was attitudinal change by drivers and pedestrians.

“The roads must be safe for all of us.

When people leave home, they must return alive.

I do not want to be the head of an authority that sits by and allows people to die,” he stressed.

Mainstreaming road safety

Mr Amaliba also said as a long-term measure to improve safety on the road, the NRSA would collaborate with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to mainstream road safety education into the school curriculum at the basic level.