The Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), May Obiri-Yeboah has called for effective collaboration to stop road crashes in the country.
This call came after the Ashanti Region is reported to have recorded 224 deaths with 1,728 injuries in road crashes in the first half of 2020. This according to the NRSA is the highest statistic recorded in the period as statistics from the Ashanti Regional Police Command showed that a minimum of eight road accidents is recorded every day with one person dying and eleven persons sustaining injuries.
Speaking at a two-day capacity building for officers from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in the Ashanti Region, Mrs. Obiri- Yeboah said, she was happy the program was taking place in Kumasi and called on all persons to help improve safety.
“I am also very happy that this capacity building is taking place in the Ashanti Region where the first half of 2020 saw the region record 224 deaths and 1728 injuries. This was the highest for the period and we must master all resources and strength we can to reverse the trend.
“Road traffic casualties remain a public health problem at all levels and while steps have been taken over the years to improve the situation, much still needs to be done if the rising trend in road traffic is to be halted or reversed. This, therefore, calls for a collective effort with all hands-on board to ensure that we improve the safety in our dear nation.”
Also speaking at the training, the Director-General of the MTTD of the Ghana Police Service, COP Beatrice Zakpa Vib-Zanziri charged the officers to be professional in the discharge of their duties.
“It is also my hope that this training will provide the necessary skills and knowledge and remind you of certain things you might have forgotten about so that we can all together achieve the objective of this campaign. The police administration is firmly behind you in this campaign to reduce the carnage on our roads.”
Road Crashes statistics
Contrary to statistics from the Ashanti Region, road crashes in Accra Region reduced in the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period last year.
The reduction was attributed to the COVID-19 restrictions, including the three-week lockdown of Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi in Ashanti Region and Kasoa in the Central Region between March and April.
Road crashes in 2019 is reported to have claimed 2,284 lives according to data by the Motor Traffic and Transportation Department (MTTD).
This marked a significant increase from 2018 where 2,020 persons died on Ghana’s roads.
The Greater Accra Region had the most road fatalities in 2019 with 449 recorded followed by the Ashanti Region with 448 deaths and the Eastern Region with 349 deaths. The Upper West Region featured the least deaths with 49 recorded cases.
Most of the fatalities came in crashes involving commercial vehicles where 925 fatalities were recorded as well as 7,621 injuries; crashes involving private cars led to the deaths of 627 people and 3,302 injuries; pedestrian knockdowns totalled 2,983 with 740 of the incidents resulting in deaths.
