Parliament has passed into law the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2020 which introduces stiffer punishment for road traffic offenders whose actions lead to the death of an unborn child.
The Bill amends the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683) to spell out sanctions against drivers and cyclists whose actions and inactions result in injury or death to unborn children in the womb of pregnant mothers.
The Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683) which was subsequently amended by the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 761) generally provides for the protection of children.
But the Act is silent on legal remedies for an unborn baby when a road traffic crash occurs.
Proponents of the Bill, Kumbungu MP, Ras Mubarak, Chairman of Parliament’s Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee, Ben Abdallah, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah–Bonsu, and Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, said the intention is to ensure sanity on the roads.
