DISTRACTED DRIVING DEMARCHE DELIVERED

UNCLAS ACCRA 000102

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND OES/S/NANCY CARTER-FOSTER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELTN ECON SOCI GH
SUBJECT: DISTRACTED DRIVING DEMARCHE DELIVERED

REF: STATE 6703


1. We delivered reftel demarche regarding road safety and distracted
driving to Twumasi-Ankrah Selby, Chief Director of Ghana's Ministry
of Transport, and Noble Appiah, Executive Director of the National
Road Safety Commission. Mr. Selby told us that the issue of
distracted driving had been the subject of recent attention at the
ministry, with the increasing use of cell phones by Ghanaian drivers
for both talking and texting. (NOTE: Recent UNCTAD statistics
indicate that there are more than 11.5 million mobile phone
subscriptions in Ghana, representing a penetration rate of 48.32
percent, and the compound annual growth rate in cellular
subscriptions was 70.63 percent for the period 2003-2008. END NOTE.)



2. Observing that there had been no major overhaul of Ghana's road
safety regulations since the 1970s, Selby noted that the ministry
was now in the final stages of approving new rules. Those
regulations would be sent to the Cabinet for final approval within
the next few weeks, and he expected that they would be submitted to
Parliament by the end of March 2010. While current law did not
prohibit the use of cell phones while driving, he stated that the
new regulations would include a broad ban on cell phone use while
driving, including both speaking by phone and texting, even if the
driver was using a hands-free mobile or wireless device.


3. Mr. Appiah noted that the Road Safety Commission and Ministry of
Transport did not keep statistics on the frequency of driving
accidents involving distracted driving or texting while driving, nor
was he aware of any recent studies of the issue. He participated in
the Moscow Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in November 2009,
along with Ghana's Minister of Transport, where the issue of
distracted driving had been discussed. The GOG would plan to have
someone from Ghana's UN Mission in New York attend the upcoming UN
Road Safety Collaboration Meeting in March 2010, he said.


4. Turning to broader questions of road safety, Mr. Selby said that
Ghana's biggest challenges included driver fatigue, speeding, and
disabled vehicles obstructing thoroughfares and posing a hazard to
motorists. In that regard, the ministry was considering whether the
new road rules should include provisions requiring a mandatory rest
period for long-haul commercial drivers and the use of speed
limiters on commercial vehicles. GOG financing for a towing service
to remove disabled vehicles was also under consideration in the new
regulatory framework. Other challenges included poor driver skills
and poorly maintained roads, though a better road infrastructure
might also lead to more accidents from speeding, which had been a
perverse but not uncommon problem after previous major road
improvements in Ghana, he observed. Finally, he noted that the
ministry would be launching a major driving skills initiative in
2010, including establishing a National Drivers' Academy.

TEITELBAUM