By Morlai Sesay
In the year 2023 alone, Sierra Leone reported a staggering toll of 269 lives lost due to road accidents. Ambrose Tucker, Manager of Research and Development at the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) revealed that among these, 157 were female while 112 were male.
Road accident has however continued to claim numerous lives annually, a grim reality that persists not only in Sierra Leone but globally. The nation certainly grapples with daily fatal clashes on the roads, leaving many severely injured or tragically, facing disgraceful deaths.
Comparatively, during the same period from January to September 2022, a total of 296 individuals lost their lives in road accidents. Of these fatalities, 219 were male, and 77 were female. Tucker addressed these statistics during the launch of the Digitized Motor Insurance Database at the New Brookfield’s Hotel in Freetown.
Overloading of vehicles with passengers and goods remains a significant cause of these tragic incidents, alongside reckless alcohol intake by drivers while operating vehicles.
Given the alarming rate of fatalities resulting from road accidents, Mr. Tucker expressed SLRSA’s endorsement of the digitized database. He emphasized that this initiative would not only streamline their operations but also benefit the insurance industry, ushering in a much-needed sense of order.
Highlighting SLRSA’s commitment to the new system, Tucker assured that staff would undergo training to discern authentic digitized stickers from counterfeit ones proficiently. Additionally, SLRSA plans to establish an internal system dedicated to monitoring the flow of vehicle licenses throughout the country.
This concerted effort seeks to address the dire situation on the roads and pave the way for safer and more regulated driving practices in Sierra Leone
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