The death of 11 people in a road crash at Ofankor on the Accra-Kumasi Highway is yet another painful reminder that Ghana continues to pay too high a price for indiscipline and unsafe practices on its roads.
Thirteen other people sustained injuries in the crash, which involved two tipper trucks, two commercial buses, two saloon cars and an auto rickshaw, popularly known as “Aboboya”. Several vehicles were extensively damaged, while some passengers were trapped in the wreckage.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Ambulance Service deserve commendation for their swift response, including the rescue and transportation of injured victims to hospital.
The efforts of the emergency services are critical in reducing fatalities and ensuring that survivors receive timely medical attention.
But beyond the immediate rescue operation, the tragedy raises serious questions about road safety and the behaviour of motorists.
According to the GNFS, preliminary information suggested that a stationary vehicle on the highway may have contributed to the collision.
While investigations by the Ghana Police Service and the GNFS must be allowed to establish the exact cause, the warning that vehicles stopping by the roadside to load or offload passengers on a high-speed highway poses a serious danger cannot be ignored.
This is not simply a matter of individual negligence. It points to weaknesses in road-use practices, enforcement and the management of dangerous sections of the country’s highways.
The comments by the Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, are equally instructive.
He expressed concern about increasing indiscipline on the roads and cited distracted driving, including the use of mobile phones, inattention and reckless manoeuvres, as factors contributing to crashes.
Public education on road safety is important, but education alone will not solve the problem.
Motorists who knowingly speed, overtake dangerously, use mobile phones while driving or stop at unsafe locations must face consequences.
Where road users repeatedly violate traffic regulations without meaningful sanctions, public education campaigns risk becoming little more than annual rituals.
The authorities must therefore strengthen enforcement, particularly at accident-prone locations. Traffic police and other enforcement agencies must be adequately resourced to monitor dangerous stretches of road and act promptly against violations.
There is also a need to examine the conditions that encourage commercial vehicles and other motorists to stop at unsafe locations.
Where roadside loading and offloading have become common, the relevant authorities must provide and enforce safer alternatives.
The loss of 11 lives at Ofankor should not become another statistic that briefly dominates public attention before being forgotten. Each death represents a family disrupted and a community deprived.
The authorities must complete the investigations into this particular crash and make the findings public where appropriate.
More importantly, lessons from the incident must translate into action.
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