Henry Asomani, Senior Manager of Programs and Planning of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has cautioned Ghanaians to stop patronising commercial motorbikes, popularly known as ‘Okada,’ as means of transport.

According to him, desisting from patronising such means of transport will make the ‘Okada’ business less lucrative for many people and reduce road accidents.

Mr Asomani explained that the current data show that forty-two per cent of deaths resulting from road carnage are as a result of the use of motorbikes.

“When you are on a motorbike and it is involved in an accident, the possibility of fatality is high. I would urge people to stop patronising it. Okada business has increased the number of motorbikes in the system, and subsequently increasing the death toll of motorbike accidents”.
Mr Henry Asomani

The NRSA Senior Programs Manager noted that people must be responsible for their own safety. As such, there is the need to stop engaging the services of ‘okada’ riders simply because they want to get to their destination fast.

Road traffic accidents

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in their latest release of motor accident returns for the same period indicates that 20,225 vehicles were involved in various road crashes which resulted in 2,126 deaths with 11,659 others being injured.

Additional analysis reveals that the total number of deaths recorded in the period under review was 17.9 percent lower than the total number of deaths due to road crashes recorded in 2020.

Also, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service revealed that about 40 percent of deaths recorded on the country’s roads in the first half of 2020 were due to motorcycle crashes.

Superintendent Alexander Obeng, Director in charge of Education, Research and Training at the MTTD, revealed that these few crashes accounted for 440 deaths out of 1,141 from January to June.

In comparison, for the entirety of 2019, there were 732 deaths resulting from 4,643 motorcycle crashes.

With this, Mr Asomani advised that all motor riders should be in helmets and follow all the traffic regulations. He further urged the public to prioritise safety, report, and assist the Police in cases involving Okada.

The patronising of Okada commercially and call for its legalization has elicited public discourse over the years, particularly during the 2020 election when it was employed by a leading political party to canvass for votes.

GPRTU, not in support of the legalization of okada

In September last year, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), expressed its intent to oppose plans by any political party to legalize the commercial use of motorcycles known as okada.

According to the union, concerns raised by the Ghana Medical Association, that the number of road fatalities will increase if the business is legalized, must be taken seriously. This followed plans by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to legalize the business if the party had won power in the December 2020 Presidential election.

As such, the Okada Riders Association of Ghana (ORAG), on the other hand, vowed to ensure that the NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, won the 2020 polls.

However, the President Akufo-Addo government also described the operationalization of okada in the country as a “risky business”. As a result, Dr. Bawumia announced government’s proposed alternative to offer new cars to the operators on a lease basis in order for them to carry out their activities in a much safer manner.