Fleet maintenance and road safety: Who is enforcing compliance?

By Ing. Noble J. APPIAH

On a typical journey from Accra to Kumasi, it is not unusual to see heavy-duty vehicles, coaches and buses broken down along the highway. Some have burst tyres and others have open engine compartments, a sign of engine overheating or other mechanical problems. In more worrying cases, gearboxes are being dismantled and major mechanical work is being carried out by the roadside.

This has become a common phenomenon that many road users now treat it as normal. But this should not be seen as normal. The frequency and nature of these breakdowns raise serious questions which are of national concern: are fleet maintenance standards being followed, and who is enforcing compliance?

Breakdowns are more than an inconvenience

Vehicle breakdowns are not only an inconvenience to transport operators. They are costly to businesses, passengers, traders, importers, exporters and the wider economy. A broken-down truck carrying goods delays delivery, raises operating costs and affects the consignee. A stranded passenger bus creates discomfort, anxiety and sometimes serious safety risks.

A disabled heavy-duty vehicle on a busy road also becomes a danger to other road users, especially at night or on poorly lit sections of the highway.

Fleet availability and reliability reflects operator discipline

In transport operations, one of the key measures of performance is fleet availability and reliability. This refers to the percentage of vehicles in a fleet that are fit, safe and ready for use at any given time. It reflects the operator’s technical capacity, financial health, procurement practices, maintenance culture and commitment to operational standards and safety. A company with frequent breakdowns may not simply be unlucky; it may be operating with weak maintenance systems and poor compliance discipline.

The roadworthiness question

Ghana has laws and regulations that set minimum roadworthiness and compliance standards for vehicles used on public roads. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has a responsibility to ensure that vehicles meet these standards through inspection, testing and certification. This is done through DVLA testing centres and authorized private testing centres

Yet the number of broken-down heavy-duty vehicles, buses and coaches seen daily on our roads suggests that the system is not working as effectively as it should.

The question is not whether roadworthiness certificates exist. They do. The real question is whether the certification process is rigorous enough, credible enough and properly monitored and enforced enough to guarantee that vehicles declared roadworthy are genuinely safe for public use.

Roadworthiness must not be a paper exercise

Roadworthiness should not be reduced to a mere paper exercise. It should be a serious technical process that checks whether a vehicle can safely operate under real road conditions.

For heavy-duty vehicles and passenger buses, the standard should be even higher because the risks are greater. A poorly maintained private car is dangerous, but a poorly maintained bus or truck can cause mass casualties and major economic disruption.

An outdated maintenance culture

The current maintenance culture in the road transport industry appears too weak for the demands of modern transport. In many cases, fleet maintenance is still based on intuition, manual maintenance and repairs history and reactive repairs.

Vehicles are usually   repaired when they break down, instead of being maintained through planned inspection, preventive maintenance and data-driven monitoring. This approach may appear cheaper in the short term, but it is far more expensive and dangerous in the long run.

Technology can improve compliance

Modern fleet management has moved beyond guesswork. Across the world, transport operators are using telematics, digital maintenance records, vehicle diagnostics and driver behaviour monitoring to improve safety and efficiency.

These tools help operators track speed, braking patterns, fuel use, engine condition, tyre performance and predictive maintenance and repairs. They also create reliable records that regulators can inspect.

Ghana’s road transport sector cannot continue to rely on outdated systems while vehicle technology and operational risks are changing rapidly. If transport operators are expected to meet modern safety standards, then regulators must also modernize their technical capacity and enforcement tools.

Regulators must be better coordinated

The DVLA and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) have important roles to play. However, their mandates must be clear and well coordinated. Where there are overlaps, rivalry or weak coordination between agencies, enforcement suffers.

Road safety cannot be managed by fragmented institutions. Ghana needs a strong, technically competent and collaborative regulatory regime that places public safety above institutional turf interests. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) which has oversight policy responsibilities over both DVLA and NRSA must ensure effective coordination between the two agencies.

Revenue should not come before safety

There is also the need to evaluate the performance of regulatory agencies differently. Revenue generation is important, especially because institutions need resources to modernise, attract skilled staff and invest in technology.

However, revenue must not become more important than safety. The true measure of DVLA’s effectiveness should not simply be how much money it raises, but how credible, reliable and enforceable vehicle roadworthiness and operational standard regimes are being implemented and monitored.

Compliance is also good business

Transport operators must also accept that compliance is both a civic duty and a business necessity. A company that invests in proper maintenance culture protects lives, reduces downtime, wins customer trust and strengthens its own long-term profitability.

Fleet maintenance and compliance should not be viewed as a regulatory burden. It is a core part of responsible business practices and management.

What must be done

To address the various issues, Ghana needs a comprehensive review of the fleet maintenance and roadworthiness ecosystem. Regulatory agencies, transport operators, maintenance service providers, professional transport institutions and industry associations should work together to develop and implement a practical framework for vehicle inspection, maintenance and certification.

This framework should cover maintenance procedures, digital records, technical skills, equipment standards, safety protocols and sanctions for non-compliance.

Regulators should periodically publish the names of operators who consistently fail to meet safety and maintenance requirements. Serious breaches should attract sanctions, including suspension or revocation of operating licences. At the same time, private maintenance service providers should be supported to build capacity, especially for heavy-duty vehicles and public service vehicles.

Conclusion: Safety begins before the engine starts

Road safety begins long before a driver starts the engine. It begins in the workshop, in the inspection centre, in the maintenance log, in the procurement decision and in the regulator’s enforcement culture.

If Ghana is serious about reducing road traffic crashes and improving efficiency in transport operations, then fleet maintenance compliance must become a national priority. Broken-down trucks and buses on our highways should not be accepted as part of everyday travel.

These occurrences are warning signs of a weak system. The time has come to ask difficult questions, enforce vehicle operational standards and modernize the way we keep vehicles safe on our roads.

The Author is a transport engineer, transport management expert, and road safety practitioner with over thirty (30) years of experience in the transport industry. He has served in several executive leadership roles, including Managing Director of Intercity STC Coaches Limited and Metro Mass Transit Limited, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission (now the National Road Safety Authority), and Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority. He currently works as A Transport Management and Road Safety Consultant.

The post Fleet maintenance and road safety: Who is enforcing compliance? appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story