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Two hundred and eleven persons were killed in road accidents in the Central Region last year.
Though the figure is high, it was 31 less than the 242 lives lost in 2020.

Of the 211 fatalities experienced last year, 82 were pedestrians who were knocked and killed. Pedestrians knocked and killed in 2020 were 67.

The number of persons injured also decreased from 1,511 in 2020 to 1,442; 69 less than what was recorded in 2020, representing 4.6 per cent decrease.

The vehicles involved also decreased from 1,583 to 1,507; 76 vehicles less representing 4.8 per cent decrease.

The vehicles involved included 690 commercial vehicles, 522 private vehicles and 295 motorcycles.

Road crashes involving motorcycles decreased from 378 to 295 in 2021. The 83 less motorcycles represented a 22 per cent decrease.

The Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Ms Linda Afotey Annan, who disclosed these, said the office of the NRSA would intensify education and sensitisation to further reduce fatalities in 2022.

Explaining what accounted for the reduction in fatalities, Ms Annan said the increase in the number of its staff enabled the NRSA to reach more people with education on safer and responsible road use practices.
 
Pre-departure checks

She said the NRSA also increased education and pre-departure checks at the lorry terminals and intensified sensitisation at hotspots in the region.

Ms Annan indicated that what was heartwarming was the fact that the last quarter of 2021 recorded a significant decrease in fatalities, which she noted further reduced the fatalities.

She said the NRSA was still on its ‘Stay Alive’ campaign to get road users to change negative attitudes while enforcement of regulations would be enhanced.

Further, she stated that a road safety taskforce had been established in Cape Coast, together with other stakeholder organisations and the metropolitan assembly, to ensure road users adhered to road regulations and offenders were punished.

Motorcycles

On the motorcycles accidents, Ms Annan said from the NRSA's monthly statistics, it realised that, December recorded the least number of four accidents while seven were recorded in November.

She said the ban on underage riders of tricycles in Cape Coast in mid-November could probably be a factor in the reduction of the accidents recorded.

Ms Annan said the NRSA would deepen collaboration with other stakeholders to work to decongest the roads and promote safety.

"We know we cannot do it alone and so we are working effectively with the Ghana Police Service, the Urban Roads Department and other related agencies to prevent accidents and save lives", she added.