VZCZCXYZ0023
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0102 0331457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021457Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8862

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