Officials at the launch of DRIFAN in Accra
Statistics have it that globally, some 1.4 million people are killed every year and another 50 million injured by road crashes, topping the cause of deaths among young people between 5 and 29 years, the 8th leading cause of death globally.
To help change the trend, DRIFAN, a road safety community-driven application that allows road users to post hazards for prompt alerts for timely interventions has been launched in Accra. The App, introduced by the Ghana Driver and Road Safety Foundation in partnership with the National Road Safety Authority can help one to find self-paced road safety training, car maintenance hacks for newbies and existing drivers to make them safe and up to date with new trends and regulations in a driver’s world.
The Director of Partnerships and Projects of the Ghana Driver and Road Safety Foundation, Madam Freda Frimpong, said the Drifan App is a game-changer. She added that,
“Drifan is a work-in-progress. Additional functionalities to contribute to safer and sustainable transportation will be added onto the platform over the next 24 months,” she said.
The United Nations Strategy on Road Safety is based on a “safe-system” approach which involves managing the complex interaction between speed, vehicles, road infrastructure and road-user behaviour to prevent crashes from resulting in serious human injury.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Charles Abani, said the initiative points to attaining SDG Target 3.6 which seeks to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
“I am happy that the youth of Ghana are not just consuming technology produced elsewhere but are building locally relevant solutions such as what we are launching today,” he said.
DRIFAN has funding support from the Ghana Commercial Bank and Ghana Oil, GOIL, to embark on this digital journey to ensure the safety of all categories of road users.