Auto Expo(15/5/09)

Story: Francis Yaw Kyei & Jennifer Dornoo
A Minister of State at the Office of the President, Alhaji Amadu Seidu, has expressed the government's commitment to provide the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) with the needed resources to install speed limiters in vehicles to check speeding and indiscipline on roads.
Additionally, he said the government would support the commission to install cameras at strategic locations to check indiscipline and reduce carnage on the roads.
The speed limiters, when installed in commercial vehicles, will restrict drivers of commercial vehicles from moving above a specific speed limit.
Alhaji Seidu gave the assurance at the opening ceremony of the Ghana Auto Expo 2009 on the theme “Making the right automotive choices to ensure safety on our roads.”
The exhibition, organised by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra, provided the opportunity for car dealers, oil marketing companies, vehicle finance and insurance companies and operators of vehicular tracking devices to display their products and services.
The occasion was also used to launch the Nissan Murano, a new Nissan model by Auto Parts Limited.
The Nissan Murano has 12 Air Bag Systems (ABS), Electronic Blinking System (EBS), Electronic Brake Distribution System (EBDS), among others, to ensure safety of passengers.
Alhaji Seidu said safety on the roads had been compromised largely owing to poor vehicle maintenance, inadequate public education and low level of regulation enforcement.
He expressed optimism that the exhibition would sensitise vehicle owners and users to the need to buy and keep their automobiles in good condition.
He underlied the need for the public to always patronise new and genuine vehicles, auto-parts and accessories to prevent frequent breakdowns and eliminate high maintenance costs.
The Executive Director of B&FT, Mrs Edith Dankwa, said the exp. was to bring together vehicle sellers and buyers to educate them on the right automotive choices to make in order to ensure safety on the roads.
She said the rate of road carnage in the country was alarming and, therefore, needed an intervention to save lives and property.
Mrs Dankwa urged the public to be disciplined on the roads and advised them to take full advantage of latest vehicles, auto parts and accessories on display as well as various finance and insurance options at the exhibition.
The Manager of the Vehicle and Asset Finance (VAF) product of Stanbic Bank, Mr Peter Effah Owusu, said the bank participated in the event to provide the public with various financial solutions to enable them to purchase new and genuine vehicles for safety purposes.