The deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, Mr Titus Nii Kwartei Glover, has revealed that provisional statistics released by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) on road safety deaths as of the end of August 2017 indicate that six people die daily in Ghana as a result of road accident based on an annual average of 2,000 deaths.
The Minister said for the period January – August, 2017, a total of 8,035 road traffic crashes involving 10,528 vehicles were reported, in which 1,129 casualties were recorded with 7,761 fatal injuries.
He added that a total of 1,382 persons were killed while 2,197 pedestrians were knocked down and called for concerted effort to reduce road accidents.
The Minister was speaking at a stakeholders conference organised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Road Safety Initiative for Cities and the National Road Safety Commission at the Kofi Anan International Peace and Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra on the theme: ‘Strengthening Capacity for Road Safety Management,’
He said comparing the total number of road crashes of 8,035 to the figure during the same period in 2016, there was a decrease of 1.98% in cases reported, but a surge of 7.63% in vehicles involved.
He also said there was a record high of 19.66% increase in pedestrian knockdowns and 9.74% increase in persons injured.
“Currently in Ghana, nearly 60% of all crash victims are within the production bracket of between 18-45 years, while 70% of all casualties are men,” he stated.
The Minister hinted that the situation creates a lot of strain on the domestic economies of the affected facilities or families, adding that road traffic crashes have direct and indirect effects on deepening poverty, distruction of property, and stretching medical care and facilities.
“These statistics do not mirror good for road safety situation in the country as of August this year. However, it does not seek to suggest that it is that bad since we can work hard to change the story,” Mr Glover said.
He said the United Nations in 2011 declared a decade of action for road safety with a call on member countries to reduce road accidents by 50% by the year 2020.
The board chairman of NRSC, Rev. Ismaila Awudu, said 80% of Ghanaians depend on road transport as a mode of transportation.
“Without it, there will be obvious constraints for commuters and industries that rely heavily on the road network to transport goods and services from one place to another,” he said.
Rev Ismaila said the roads must be safer at all times so that there will be no fear of deaths and injuries on the part of those who access the transportation mode.
“Judging from the statistics presented above, we can say that the road safety situation in the country is improving on a daily basis, so the theme ‘Strengthening Capacities for Road Safety Management’ is more timely, appropriate and a cause worth of engaging,” he added.
He stated that road traffic deaths are estimated as claiming more than 1.2 million lives each year globally. It also remains the ninth leading cause of death across all age groups and among young people aged 15 to 29 years, the age bracket that forms the prime of any economic society.
“Currently, the NRSC is providing leadership for implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy III (NRSS III-2020), which aligns with the UN initiative. The broad objective of the strategy is to stabilise the unacceptable levels of road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2015, and thereafter, reduce it by 50% by the end of 2020 as recommended in the UN Global Plan for the Decade of Action,” Rev Ismaila said.
Task
“The task of road safety improvement and management remains a shared and collective responsibility.
“While the workshop offers an opportunity to compare notes, it will also provide a unique avenue to network, find new and innovative ways to unlock peculiar challenges in the road safety sector, as we continuously educate ourselves to build the requisite capacity,” Rev Ismaila stated.
The workshop brought together government officials from the sub-region, representatives of the private sector, academia, the media and civil society to exchange ideas and good practices on improving road safety and urban mobility to arrest the carnage on the road.
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