“Chew and pour” drivers causing lives- DVLA boss cries
A caution has been sounded to drivers who tend to resort to root learning to enable them pass their proficiency exams to qualify for a driving license. Western Region Director of the Driver and Vehicle License Authority (DVLA), Mr Emmanuel Narh has observed that a section of drivers have failed to internalise learnings from their training sessions prior to the receipt of their licenses, and that often fail to secure their vehicles and lives when they encounter hazards on the road.
Mr Narh in an exclusive interview with Skyy News, mentioned that the capacity of such drivers are limited to evaluate these hazards, and that they could hardly manoeuvre and avoid accidents.
He explained that drivers need to be reading and updating themselves on various forms of hazards on the road.
“If you’ve been relying solely on the initial training given you,..the chew, pour, pass and forget system, you may not be able to help yourself” he said.
Mr Narh noted that the DVLA does not test for experience with the competency test; which is taken by trainees from driving schools, “where they often chew-pour-pass and forget”
At the proficiency level he said “drivers have encountered most of these harzards” and thus may have to prove their competence in managing them.
“And so therefore you must equip yourself or the organisation that you work with, will have to be organising refresher courses to equip its drivers with the requisite skill so that those hazards will not cause them to err” he explained.
His comments come after a Skyy News observatory report on road indiscipline and accidents in the metropolis. Many have questioned the attitudes and qualifications of commercial drivers in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis, over instances of recklessness and indiscipline demonstrated on the road. Drivers are seen overloading passengers and cargo, picking and dropping passengers at unauthorised spots, excess speeding among others. City authorities have make frank attempts to sanction these actions yet to no avail.
