November 28, 2016 By Joseph S. Margai
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), Abdul Karim Dumbuya, has told Concord Times that the Authority has recently intensified a campaign to ensure that every commercial vehicle maintain a manifest detailing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of passengers for an effective and timely identification of accident victims.
He said they had urged drivers to always maintain manifest to save officials of SLRSA, traffic Police and Motor Drivers Union, the difficult in identifying relatives and addresses of victims of road traffic crashes.
“We have noticed that most of the addresses and contact persons of victims of road accidents are sometimes very difficult to identify. In fact, it is more difficult when the victim dies. If the victim only sustains injuries, he/she will give us the addresses and contact numbers of relatives after receiving medication,” said Dumbuya.
The SLRSA PRO said most commercial motor drivers and lorry park attendants have not been preparing manifests detailing the names and numbers of passengers, contact persons and their telephone numbers.
When asked as to what they have done to ensure the sustainability of the manifest campaign, the SLRSA PRO said they have engaged members of the Motor Drivers Union, the Traffic Department of the Sierra Leone Police, the lorry park attendants, the Indigenous Transport Owners Association, the Passengers’ Welfare Association, among other stakeholders in the transport industry, to ensure that they were involved in the implementation process.
“We will deploy members of the Road Safety Corps (RSC) at the various check and interception points to ascertain that all commercial vehicles maintain a manifest,” he said.
With regards post-crash care for victims of road traffic crashes, he said the Authority in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, has been engaging officials of some hospitals to treat victims.
The institution is also set to introduce yellow number plates for commercial motor bikes plying the streets of Sierra Leone.
Abdul Karim Dumbuya says: “We have decided to introduce the yellow number plates for commercial motor bikes as part of the rebranding process of the institution. They are currently using red number plates as commercial vehicles.”