Media and Development Communications Practitioner, Samuel Afriyie Owusu has called on the Driver and the Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to collaborate with the police and other agencies to introduce and enforce a penalty points or demerits system in Ghana to ensure that unprofessional and undisciplined drivers are banned or get their licenses revoked in order to promote road safety.He bemoaned that, the DVLA which is the state institution authorized to license and register drivers and vehicles in Ghana does not have the records of road traffic violations and accidents that drivers have caused in order to assess their eligibility to continue to drive on our roads.According to him, in some jurisdictions including; Italy, Australia, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands a penalty point or demerit point system is implemented under which a person's driving license may be revoked or suspended based on the number of points they have accumulated over a specific period of time in relations to traffic offenses or infringements committed by the drivers within that period."Unfortunately, the DVLA doesn't have the records of drivers regarding the road traffic offenses they have committed or accidents they have been involved in.
In other places, there is a scoring system where drivers lose points any time they commit a traffic offense and if they fall below the threshold, they are suspended or have their license revoked" Samuel Afriyie noted during a discussion on 'The Trends' show on TV 3 Friday 18 October, 2024.The points or demerit schemes are usually applied in addition to fines or other penalties which may be imposed for a particular offence or infringement, or after a prescribed number of points have been accumulated.The driver licensing authority, police force, or other organization under these schemes keep a record of the demerit points accumulated by drivers after a driving offense has been committed and if the total exceeds the threshold, the offender may be disqualified from driving for a time, or the driving license may be revoked.
After the license suspension period has expired, the previous demerit points are cancelled."The primary goal of the point systems is to identify, determine, and penalize repeat traffic offenders, while streamlining the legal process to enhance road safety" Samuel Afriyie underlined.His advice comes on the back of the discussion on the increasing incidences of road crashes, especially the one that occurred at East Legon on 12 October, 2024 where the reckless driving of a minor led to an accident resulting in two vehicles burning totally and the untimely death of two young girls with others sustaining various degrees of injury.The January - July 2024 Crash Report Summary from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) indicates that a total of 7,470 road traffic crashes were reported over the period.
These crashes involved 12,678 vehicles of all categories (Private, Commercial, Motorbikes/Cycles, etc.), and 9,965 casualties (1,405 fatalities/deaths and 8,560 injuries).He further cautioned drivers to pay attention to the road communication. " Driving is an art and science with its own form of communication.