According to statistics, 10% of the nation’s traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers who drink and drive.
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Speakers at a capacity-building workshop on road safety for journalists last Thursday in Accra expressed concern over the situation and called for a drop in the country’s legal Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) limit from 0.08 to 0.05.
According to them, this would result in a considerable decrease in alcohol-related traffic accidents across the nation.
The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream or the percentage of alcohol in a person’s blood is measured by their BAC.
Developing the Capacity of Journalists on Road Safety Reporting was the focus of the workshop, which was put on by CUTS International, a non-governmental organization (NGO), in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
According to Mr. Isaac Yaw Obeng, Head of Research, CUTS International, road traffic accidents (RTC) are one of the top causes of death and injury worldwide, killing an estimated 1.3 million people per year.
“Around 93 percent of RTC instances and injuries take place in poor nations, and 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are ranked in the top 20 countries for RTC proneness for cases and casualties,” he continued.
According to Mr. Obeng, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that drunk driving posed a significant risk factor for 27% of all traffic injuries.
The amount of alcohol in the blood is closely associated with the possibility that an automobile accident will occur, making drunk driving a critical public health concern, he continued. According to Mr. Obeng, a strong public awareness of the risks of drunk driving and the existence of enforcement measures through mass media and other strategic communications should go hand in hand with the punishment for violating the alcohol consumption limit.
The risk of dying in a car accident was highlighted by Ms. Mavis Obeng-Mensah, communication officer for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety Ghana (BIGRS). Her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was between 0.02 and 0.05.
“Rules that set limits on BAC of 0.05 or below along with efficient enforcement can lead to considerable reductions in alcohol-related crashes,” the expert claimed.
Ms. Obeng-Mensah urged journalists to join the call for a change in the legal limit for blood alcohol content in order to lessen the number of traffic accidents that have been reported nationwide.
