The Technical Working Committee of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has declared the use of Toyota Voxy vehicles for commercial transport illegal due to safety concerns related to their design and modifications in Ghana. This decision follows an investigation into the increasing use of these minivans as public transport, especially after being converted from right-hand drive to left-hand drive. During the presentation of the committee’s final report in Accra on Wednesday, April 8, Chairman Godwin Kafui Ayetor described the situation as a significant threat to passenger safety and called for urgent regulatory action.
He explained that the vehicle, originally manufactured for private family use, is not engineered for the rigours of commercial transport, particularly under Ghana’s road conditions. “The manufacturer informed us that the Toyota Voxy is a minivan designed for young middle-class families, not for commercial passenger use. In other words, it is not designed for high mileage and is intended for use on paved roads,” he said.
Dr Ayetor noted that the vehicle’s limitations become more pronounced when deployed for long-distance or rough terrain operations, adding that more robust alternatives exist for such purposes. “Once off-road conditions come into play, the recommendation is to use vehicles such as the Toyota Hiace, which are specifically built for commercial applications,” he stated.
The committee found that many of the vehicles currently in use have undergone extensive structural modifications, including changes to suspension systems and tyres, often by unlicensed operators. These alterations, according to the report, compromise the vehicle’s integrity and increase the likelihood of mechanical failure.
“As part of the conversion, the suspension is altered, and the vehicle is raised. The tyres are also changed. However, the tyres that come with the Toyota Voxy are passenger tyres, not designed for high payload or high mileage,” he explained. Beyond the technical concerns, the committee identified what it described as a systemic breakdown in regulation, allowing such vehicles to be imported, modified and used commercially without adequate oversight.
“We observed a systemic regulatory breakdown, which has led to the proliferation of these conversions. These vehicles are often unlawfully imported, improperly converted, and operated as commercial transport, posing serious safety risks,” Dr Ayetor stated. He warned that thousands of such vehicles may already be operating across the country without meeting safety standards.
“We have allowed thousands of unlawfully imported vehicles to enter the country, be modified without standards by uncertified practitioners, registered without proper testing and inspection, and operated commercially despite private registration in some cases,” he added. In its final assessment, the committee concluded that the continued use of the Toyota Voxy in its current form for commercial transport presents an unacceptable risk to public safety.
The Technical Working Group has reached a final conclusion regarding the Toyota Voxy vehicle. They determined that, in its current state, the unregulated conversion from right-hand drive to left-hand drive, when used for commercial passenger transport beyond its intended specifications, poses an unacceptable risk to road safety in Ghana.
The committee has recommended stricter enforcement of existing laws, which include banning the importation of right-hand drive vehicles, implementing tighter controls on vehicle conversions, and immediately halting the registration of such vehicles for commercial use. Additionally, they have called for public education and regulatory reforms to address the improper use of private vehicles for passenger transport. The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) is expected to review these recommendations as part of broader efforts to enhance road safety and reduce accidents associated with vehicle defects and non-compliance
Source: GraphicOnline
