Travelers advised to report ‘sleepy” drivers to police

Fire Service commander for Kintampo, DO3 Ankomah Twineh, has advised drivers who ply long distance routes to take intermittent breaks in the course of the journey.
The caution follows  the deadly Kintampo accident, which claimed over 30 lives on Monday. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the accident happened after the driver of the Yutong fell asleep leading to the head-on collision with the Benz bus which was also was full of passengers.
Both vehicles reportedly caught fire leading to the burning and subsequent death of the some of the passengers on board.
Six out of the 36 passengers on board both vehicles survived the accident.
In an interview with Ekourba Gyasi on Atinka AM Drive, DO3 Ankomah Twineh, asked drivers to take breaks whenever they are plying long distances or have the urge to sleep.
He attributed most of the accidents on the Kintampo-Tamale highway stretch to tiredness on the part of the Driver.
“We would want to plead with drivers plying long distant routes to park and rest at vantage points whenever there is the need. If you have the urge to sleep, there is no point in driving and endangering the lives of  passengers. These accidents are getting out of hand,” he added.
He called on transport operators to intensify the usage of the two-driver system in long journeys where a spare driver is added to long distant bound vehicles to assist the driver in case of tiredness or the urge to sleep.
He also charged passengers not to hesitate in reporting “sleepy” drivers to the police at check-points.
That according to him, will go a long way to prevent such accidents.
 
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa