CRAG to champion road safety to promote tourism

The Car Rental Association of Ghana (CRAG) is embarking on a registration of car rentals as part of a strategy to give it a stronger brand in the auto industry, as well as champion road safety.

“We intend to embark on an aggressive campaign to educate and advocate road safety. We will engage other players in the transport sector and policy makers to contribute towards making our roads safe for all users,” the President of the association, Mr Seth Yeboah Ocran, announced at a consultative forum in Accra.

He said a much safer road would encourage both domestic and foreign tourism and pledged that the association would join forces with stakeholders to bring sanity to the country’s roads.

Road safety

 According to statistics from the National Road Safety Commission, as of the end of November 2016, there were a total of 11,378 road crashes countrywide, involving 17,746 vehicles, 1,990 deaths and 10,154 injuries.

However, the CRAG president stated that less than two per cent of the cars involved in the accident belonged to rental companies.

The forum brought together car dealers and insurance companies to deliberate on the possible avenues of cooperation for their mutual benefit which could promote tourism in the country.

To give it a stronger voice, Mr Yeboah said the association was embarking on a national membership drive starting from Accra.

“After reorganising the members in the capital, we will activate the regional membership drive until all operators who meet the minimum requirements for both Ghana Tourism Authority and CRAG are brought on board,” he said.

Growing

Although the association was formed in 1998 with 40 members, there had been 12 rentals in Ghana since 1992. The association currently has 100 members.

That number, Mr Yeboah said, could increase and become a potent force which could do business with insurance companies, auto dealers and banks.

 According to him, the association had categorised operators into Platinum, Gold, Silver and Pearl members based on the fleet size.

To run its operations more efficiently, he said, the association would soon open a secretariat and initiate a drive to certify its vendors and suppliers and connect them to a network of its members.

“We will have a service level agreement (SLA) with all affiliate members, outlining the terms of our relationship for our mutual benefit. The combined budget of CRAG members is the opportunity we bring to the table. Access to information on members’ annual spending plan will help auto dealers plan inventory,” he added.

Unique insurance package

Mr Yeboah appealed to the insurance industry to design a unique insurance  package for the association. 

With some members of the association complaining about the loss of revenue during the long periods their vehicles spent at workshops although they had insurance on them, the Head of Legal and Special Risk of GLICO Group, Mr Andrew Acheampong, urged them to take Business Interruption Insurance to cater for the lost income.

He also advised them to take the right insurance for their vehicles to protect themselves against risk.

Some of the auto dealers present stated that there were discount opportunities directly from manufacturers if members of the association ordered a number of vehicles.