The management of the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) has announced it will hold its maiden edition of the International Driver and Vehicle Innovations Conference (IDVIC) on October 10, 2023, in Accra.
The event, which will take place at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, is tailored to assembling the best minds and expertise in the area of road transport to deliberate on international best practices blended with technology and innovation to improve road infrastructure and regulatory reforms.
The conference which is on the theme: “The Future of Road Transport”, would be a platform for sharing ideas, discussing challenges, and exploring solutions that can help to improve the road transport sector in Ghana and beyond.
It would, among other things, focus on a range of speakers, experts, and professionals from the transport industry with international reputations who would share their insights and experiences on the latest developments in transport technologies and systems.
Participants at this conference would be provided with a unique opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and serve as a basis for future collaborations in the road transport sector.
Apart from the range of activities and workshops, attendees of the IDVIC conference would also be offered opportunities to make valuable networks, have access to the latest research and data, and learn from the best practices in the road transport sector.
Addressing journalists at DVLA head office on Tuesday, September 26, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations, Mr. Prince Opoku Adu-Osei, stressed that the programme is aimed at bringing together stakeholders who have acquired knowledge in the transportation sector to dialogue on new developments or technology in the transportation system.
Mr. Adu-Osei explained that, due to the advancement in technology, some Western countries have been able to manufacture cars that fly when the traffic is tense, adding that some cars have also been programmed in such a way that there is no need for a driver.
He referred to certain Apps that have been developed to provide easy access to transportation of people when sitting at their comfort zone and requesting their services.
“A lot of change is currently going on nationwide due to technology and so we don’t want to wait for events to take the nation by surprise.”
“DVLA through IDVIC is doing everything possible to bring together, all stakeholders in the transportation sector in order to discuss and dialogue on happenings in the transportation system to learn something as far as DVLA, Road Safety, Police Service, policymakers etc are concerned and to prepare themselves before events take them by surprise,” he stated.
The Conference he stated, has three sub-themes of which one has to do with re-invent, innovate, and sustained.
“Re-invent means embarking on something to bring changes. If our roads cannot contained the type of cars produced as a result of technology, then there is the need for the country to reinvent. We need to think of how to reinvent our roads starting from today. So the Conference would help for those with the know how”.
Road transport is said to be serving as the predominant mode of transportation in Ghana, accounting for more than 95% of the passenger market share and 90% of cargo traffic.
On the issue of getting rid of vehicles with bad conditions, Mr. Adu-Osei pointed out that, at an appropriate time when policies are implemented, they would leave the system by themselves saying, there would be a time when nobody would show interest in such vehicles.
The prevalence of older vehicles in the country according to DVLA, poses environmental and safety concerns, including high emission levels and an increased risk of road traffic crashes. Therefore, to mitigate these issues, a comprehensive approach is needed, focusing on the modernization of the vehicle fleet through the adoption of newer and more environmentally friendly models, equipped with advanced safety features.
He said one of the key challenges the road transport sector faces is the inconsistency of road surfaces on classified networks, as identified in the National Transport Policy of 2020.
Additionally, Ghana’s road transport sector is characterized by a significant number of imported vehicles – mostly used vehicles, primarily originating from European countries, with an average age of about 10 years.
However, technological advancements, such as electric and hybrid vehicles, reduce emissions and contribute to a greener and more sustainable transportation ecosystem.
In the face of these challenges, transformative innovations are rapidly emerging within the transportation sector, offering promising solutions to revolutionize Ghana’s road transport landscape.
However, the road transport sector in Ghana faces a multitude of challenges that hinder its productivity, compromise safety, and limit its contribution to the country’s economic growth and development.
