Alcohol has been one of the major causes of car accidents over the years. As a result of that, the Sierra Leone Alcohol Policy Alliance (SLAPA) in collaboration with FoRUT, on Wednesday 22 November 2017, engaged stakeholders on a drunk driving campaign at the Council of Churches Hall at King Harman Road. The gathering brought together representatives from political parties, civil society organizations, bike riders and other key stakeholders.
The objective of the gathering is to raise awareness and sensitization of transport stakeholders to take more responsive action on defaulters of drink driving and also strengthening their understanding on alcohol policy development and implementation.
In his opening address, the Chair, Victor Lansana Koroma, said 1.5 million people die every year as a result of road crash accidents, adding that it is the ninth leading cause of death in the world. “We want to see policy prohibit the intake of alcohol,” Koroma said.
According to the Chair of SLAPA, Ibrahim B. Kamara, “Except through the collective engagement of diverse actors and experts in the country and perhaps outside Sierra Leone, to hear and learn from the insightfulness to drive the sustainable change in our collective approach to curb the harmful use of alcohol and the need for policy, by extension legislation.”
A pharmacist, Abdulai Jawo Bah, said alcohol affects the part of the brain that controls the ability to reason, adding that it also affects your judgment and can make you feel as if you are thinking more clearly than usual.
Highlighting the physical effects, he said, between the ages of 16 – 19 years have a higher fatal crash probability than any other group. Adding that people who have little or no driving experience have a higher risk of being involved in a fatal accident. He underscored that alcohol is a dangerous and powerful drug, which can change the way people act and think.
Presenting on citizen perspective of driving drinking, the Programme Manager of FoRUT, William Dauda, brought out the views of bike riders, traders, driver and other stakeholders and the dominant perception were as a result of bad behaviour and lack of responsibility on the sides of these drivers to take alcohol while driving.
According to the Executive Director of FoRUT, Boi Jeneh Jalloh, that article 102 to 108 of the Road Traffic Act of 2007 outlines some of the punishment of offenders of drunk driving. She said for someone to be found guilty of such offence, should pay a maximum fine of Le100,000 six months imprisonment or both.
MJB/22/11/17
By Mohamed J. Bah
Thursday November 23, 2017.
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