The government of Togo has set up an office within the country to encourage the safe use of roads, according to a statement issued by the ministers’ council on March 27, 2022.
Further, the National Road Safety Office (ONSR) has been tasked with the responsibility to “study, research, and implement all measures that could improve the safety of road users,” the statement added.
These measures include amongst others, the prevention of accidents, training of drivers, awareness creation, as well as improvement on emergency medical support.
The National Road Safety Office will further reinforce strategies and programmes for dealing with road insecurity in Togo.
The announcement is coming at a time when the country has experienced an alarming increase in the number of road accidents, especially in 2021.
according to figures from the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, 3,815 road accidents were recorded in the first half of 2021. Those accidents claimed the lives of 346 residents and left 4,721 injured. During the same period a year earlier, only 2,627 road accidents were recorded with 241 deaths and 3,734 injured. In total, nearly 7,500 accidents were recorded on Togolese roads, resulting in 680 deaths.
Safety measures such as the mandatory wearing of helmets for passengers (motorcycles), the recent establishment of an Observatory of Land Transport (OTT), or the introduction of a category A driving permit or breathalyser on the roads, have been recommended.