ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN GHANA

Ghana is among the African countries grappling with road traffic accident. Fatal road injury is one of the top 10 causes of death in Ghana, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers at Ghana’s Building and Road Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research estimate that the west African nation recorded 302,712 crashes involving 477,609 vehicles between 1991 and 2020. Thus, road traffic accidents remain a major public health and development challenge in Ghana. Like most developed countries, RTA is of great concern to the Ghanaian government because of the huge loss of national resources, both capital and human. The adverse effect on society is incalculable. 


Working parents are killed or injured in traffic accidents, leaving behind children to be catered for by others. Casualties from traffic accidents impose a heavy burden on already impoverished healthcare facilities. In addition, the cost of repair and replacement of damaged vehicles is a drain on resources that otherwise could be allocated to other priority sectors, such as improving education, agriculture, and health. Ghana has considerable problems with road safety. These range from legislative, to administrative, institutional, and procedural inadequacies. Some of the specific challenges referred to include poor knowledge and skills in driving; poor maintenance of vehicles; inadequate institutional capacity for vehicle inspections; inadequate capacity for traffic safety and engineering; and poor traffic enforcement capacity and tactics. In addition, the vehicle fleet on the roads appear to be old and poorly maintained. Vehicle examination, driver licensing, and driver training systems were also found to be poor. 

The extent and magnitude of the challenges pose a threat not only to road safety management but more importantly to the overall economic development agenda of the country. Despite this burgeoning problem, little attention has been paid to road traffic injury prevention and treatment in Ghana. Efforts to combat the problem of injuries have, in most cases, been hampered by paucity of funds and lack of relevant data. In Ghana however, attempts have been made in recent years to strengthen the systems for road safety and trauma care. Studies have been carried out during the last decade to gain a better understanding of the nature of the road safety problems, their overall societal burden and the appropriate measures needed to stem the ever-increasing trend in road crashes. 



REFERENCE 1. Adu-Poku, K. A., Avuglah, R. K., & Harris, E. (2014) Modeling Road Traffic Fatality Cases in Ghana. 2. Abane, A. M. (2010). Background characteristics and accident risk of commercial vehicle drivers in Cape Coast-Elmina Area of the Central Region, Ghana. Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences 1(4): 217-230 3. Okutu, J. K. (2011). Time series analysis of road traffic accidents in Ghana, a case study of Accra–Tema motorway, greater Accra region thesis submitted to the institute of distance learning (Doctoral dissertation, INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE LEARNING, KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY). 4. Obeng-Odoom, F. (2010). Drive left, look right: The political economy of urban transport in Ghana. International Journal of Urban Development 1(2): 33-48. 5. Peden, M. (2004). World report on road traffic injury

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