Kwasi Amoako-Attah, the Minister of Roads and Highways, has stated that contemporary road designs aim to give better ways of protecting schoolchildren and pedestrians by incorporating subterranean crossings where practical. He cited the Sofo Line and Kentinkrono roads in Kumasi as instances of such underground crossings.
On Monday, June 13, 2022, over thirty students from Kumasi’s Islamic Senior High School were rushed to the hospital after police allegedly used tear gas and live bullets to disperse students who were protesting incessant vehicular knockdown after their numerous requests for authorities to build speed ramps on the road were ignored.
On the numerous roads in Ghana, unauthorized speed ramps are relatively widespread. There are no street signs ahead of these illegal speed ramps to warn drivers to slow down, and they are also not properly constructed to fulfill regulations.
Mr. Amoako-Attah has also recognized that the issue of unlicensed speed ramps is difficult to address, despite the fact that it is illegal to construct such ramps.
He added that if residents of a community continue to be hit by vehicles, it is only logical that speed ramps be built to force overspeeding vehicles to slow down.
“I am not endorsing unauthorized speed ramps but some communities are compelled to do this. All of us have a part to resolve these problems. Ideally, everybody prefers to drive on the highway without speed ramps because they are problematic. In other parts of the world, you would travel on the highway for so many kilometers without any speed ramps” he emphasised
Drivers are to fault, according to the Roads Minister, for disobeying traffic signs and speeding even in towns where the speed limit is 50 km/h..
“You and I know the behavior of drivers, I am referring to all those who sit behind the steering wheel including me. Some of us drivers irresponsibly including both private and commercial drivers even those who are supposed to know better are irresponsible when driving. Even when it is clearly written that drivers should not exceed 50km/hour, you see them not heeding to the road signs and over speed”
There are procedures to follow, according to Amoako-Attah, before an official speed ramp can be erected on the road. He explained that anyone who want speed ramps can write to the Ministry of Roads’ headquarters and explain why they are needed.
According to the Minister of Roads, unlawful speed ramps on our roadways generate a lot of traffic congestion, therefore he formed a special committee inside his ministry to inventory and audit all of the speed ramps on our roads. Many of the unlawful speed ramps have been removed, and the essential ones that were not properly constructed have been reconstructed, as a result of the technical committee’s recommendations.