More than one hundred (100) Driving school Administrators in Liberia have completed a two-day Road safety Stakeholder workshop in Monrovia aimed at transforming the traffic sector. The two days State holders workshop was organized by the Ministry of Transport Road Safety Secretariat Department and sponsored by the World Bank.
Serving as one of the facilitators, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and also chief of public safety John Saar said, the training was aimed at educating drivers on road safety, the reduction of accident cases, the prevention of property damage, accident prevention and control, the rules of the traffic and to discourage street learning drivers.
Commissioner Saar noted that there are Driving institutions operating in the country with a different curriculum which is contributing to the high rate of motor accidents in Liberia, he stressed that Liberia has the higher rate of motor accidents among Southern Sahara countries.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Fred Gaye who was also the Lead facilitator narrated that as a driver one should be knowledgeable about the functions of the different signs in the traffic.
According to Commissioner Gaye, the increasing number of accident cases in recent times prompted the decision to have conducted the two days training to avoid further life and property damage, he noted that driver behavior is a major contributing factor to the increased rate of accidents across the country.
He expressed that after the trending motor accident cases will be minimized due to mechanisms that will be put in place as it relates to road safety.
For his part, the Director of Public Affairs at the Ministry of Transport Lemuel O. Kleeme narrated that the Road safety Secretariat has carried out similar workshops in 6 of the 15 counties in Liberia namely, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Bong, Nimba, Margibi, and Montserrado counties and anticipating to visit other countries shortly.
The Director of Public Affairs mentioned that there are partners who are working with the Road Safety Secretariat to ensure that the work is implemented across the country. He named the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Works, the Liberia National Police (LNP), and the Ministry of Transport as the lead agency.
Lemuel Kleeme mentioned that the road safety Secretariat has worked with the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia National Police to amend the Vehicles law of Liberia since 1972 to meet present-day reality and has drafted the national curriculum for driving schools across the country as well as Institutional Manual prescribed standards and erection of Highway codes for directions amongst other.
Speaking on behalf of the participants Samuel Zarkpah extolled the organizers of the training and promise to convey the message to his colleagues who did form part of the two days training.
He used the occasion to caution his colleagues to implement whatever they have learned during the training and also educate other students about the danger of violating the rule.
The workshop which began on Thursday, July 7, climaxed on Friday, July 8, 2022, at the Liberia National Police head Quarters in Central Monrovia.
Reported by: Joseph N. Kerkula
Email: jnkerkula@gmail.com
Contact: +231777376826
