Between January and June 2024, 1,237 people lost their lives in road accidents. The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) stated that many of these deaths were due to drivers making dangerous overtaking manoeuvres and not obeying traffic signs. Pearl Adusu Sateckla, the NRSA’s Head of Public Relations, expressed concern and highlighted that high-speed driving contributes to more severe crashes.
During this period, there were 6,653 reported road traffic accidents involving 11,283 vehicles, resulting in 8,798 casualties – 1,237 deaths and 7,561 injuries. Knockdowns decreased, but there was an increase in the number of people killed compared to the same period in 2023.
The statistics also revealed a higher ratio of road traffic deaths for adults than for children, mainly because adults are at a higher risk of being involved in traffic incidents.
The Bono Region saw the biggest increase in crashes, while the Upper East Region had the highest decrease. The Oti Region had a significant increase in fatalities, and the Savannah Region followed with a substantial increase.
Across the regions, there were decreases in all indicators except for the number of people killed. The Greater Accra Region experienced a significant drop in fatalities, while the Ashanti Region recorded a substantial increase.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Ghana has asked the government to promptly set up a committee to thoroughly investigate recent road accidents and make its findings public.
