{
  "id": 7819664,
  "title": "Road deaths must no longer be accepted as inevitable – DVLA Board Chairman",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/road-deaths-must-no-longer-be-accepted-as-inevitable-dvla-board",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T15:42:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/road-deaths-must-no-longer-be-accepted-as-inevitable-dvla-board-chairman/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "George Spencer Quaye, Chairman of the DVLA's Governing Board, has urged for a radical change in how the Authority evaluates its performance. He argued that Ghana should no longer tolerate road deaths as a fact of life. Quaye emphasized that the DVLA's success should be measured not just by revenue, licenses issued, or vehicle registrations, but by its role in lowering road fatalities and injuries. At the 2026 Mid-Year Review Conference in Sunyani, Quaye highlighted the need to make road safety a central focus of the review, stating \"Are we helping to make Ghana's roads safer?\" He presented stark statistics from 2025, reporting 14,743 road crashes, 2,949 deaths and 16,714 injuries. He warned that each fatality represents a human tragedy, urging stakeholders not to view these numbers as mere statistics. Quaye listed speeding, dangerous overtaking, drink-driving, fatigue, distraction, driving unroadworthy vehicles, driving without the proper license and disregard for traffic rules as key behaviors that must be addressed. He acknowledged challenges related to road infrastructure and enforcement, including poorly maintained roads, lack of pedestrian facilities, and insufficient regulation. Quaye proposed that the DVLA should evolve from merely a licensing and registration agency to a road-safety institution. He announced that road safety would become a more prominent aspect of the Authority's performance framework, focusing on driver competence, vehicle compliance, licensing integrity and regulatory effectiveness. Quaye called for stronger driver testing, vehicle inspections, increased use of technology, data integration, and zero tolerance for fraud and corruption. He warned that a fraudulent license could prove deadly. While financial sustainability remains important, Quaye stressed that every cedi should serve the Authority's regulatory mandate, not undermine it. He urged management and staff to take proactive steps to reduce road risks and enhance public value, emphasizing that \"We cannot eliminate every crash. But we can build systems that reduce risk.\" Quaye concluded that the ultimate measure of the DVLA's performance should be its contribution to reducing deaths and injuries on Ghana's roads.",
  "summary": "The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), George Spencer Quaye, has called for a fundamental shift in how the Authority measures its performance, insisting that Ghana must no longer accept road deaths as an inevitable part of life.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}