DVLA must check vehicles without emergency doors

Israel Djokoto, Chief Executive Officer, AMI Consult, and an auto expert has proposed a policy that will prevent individuals and firms from importing commercial vehicles that have no emergency doors at the rear into the country.

“Driver’s and Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) must also desist from registering commercial vehicles that have no emergency door at the rear.

“If all long routes vehicles are to have emergency door, it will help passengers to escape in accident situations.”

Mr. Djokoto who also has over 10-years working experience as a transport expert making a presentation in a media interaction in Accra, insisted regulators in the transport industry should monitor the condition of commercial vehicles while passengers demand better services by patronizing only vehicles which would enable free movement and safety in case of mishaps.

Mr. Djokoto said DVLA and other stakeholders in the transport sector need to embrace his suggestion in the right spirit since safety of passengers is always paramount to the nation.

“It may take time but there should not be any compromise,” he said.
He explained that all commercial vehicles must have at least one emergency exit door, which should be kept closed in normal condition and passengers should be trained on how to operate it.

However, since many cars lack this facility, anytime they are involved in accidents, their doors are often locked, complicating the escape for the passengers. The only way passengers can escape is to break the glass windows of the cars.

He observed that most of the death cases recorded during motor accidents would have been minimized if the commercial vehicles plying the nation’s routes have emergency door in addition to the entry one.

“The time has come for us to create awareness about this. Every commercial vehicle should be made to have emergency exit. The driver and its attendants should be able to explain in some few minutes before the departure just like aircraft.

“Some few commercial vehicles have the emergency exits but they are unscientifically fixed and done for namesake.

“If the emergency exits are not scientifically designed and fixed, it will not operate efficiently,” he explained.

A tour to some of the automobile companies in Accra revealed that most of the commercial vehicles they import have no emergency door. The only commercial vehicle that passengers have easy access to an emergency door exit is the Ford Transit Bus sold by Mechanical Lloyd Co Ltd.

This passenger vehicle has been skillfully manufactured and designed with an all inclusive emergency exit door and a staircase on the rear to help passengers exit quickly and safely in unlikely event of accident.