The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has revealed an alarming statistic indicating that each year, between 200 and 300 children lose their lives in road accidents. In line with this revelation, the Authority is advocating for the adoption of child restraint systems in vehicles as a means of safeguarding children in the event of road accidents.

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The call to action was issued during an advocacy workshop held in collaboration with the Law and Development Associates (LADA) institute in Accra.Speaking to the press, the Acting Director-General of NRSA, David Adonteng, acknowledged that certain legal regulations have yet to be effectively enforced due to resource limitations and gaps in traffic regulation enforcement.

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He explained that Ghana already has the Road Traffic Act 683 and the Road Traffic Regulations (LI 2180) in place. While some of these regulations have been put into practice, the full implementation has been challenging due to the time required to acquire essential resources and technical expertise.

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He added that one critical aspect that has been identified but remains absent from the laws and regulations is related to child restraints and seat belts, with a particular focus on child restraints.He stated, "We have the Road Traffic Act 683, and we also have the Road Traffic Regulations, which is the LI 2180.

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In the past, we have implemented some of the provisions but not all, as it takes time to gather the necessary resources and technical expertise to enforce all the provisions. There is one aspect that has been identified related to child restraints and seat belts, and I think child restraints, in particular, have been absent from our laws and regulations.

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""I am not surprised, and if you look at the statistics, we are witnessing adverse consequences. Between 200 and 300 children die on our roads annually because they do not use seat belts or child restraints. This is a significant problem that we need to address," Mr. Adonteng added.

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