Road accidents killing so many people in Ghana

 The rising number of road traffic fatalities in Ghana is an alarming public safety and development concern that demands immediate and sustained action.

In the first six months of 2025 alone, more than 1,500 lives were lost on our roads, according to the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD).

This staggering figure, if left unchecked, could surpass 3,000 by the end of the year, making road accidents one of the coun­try’s leading causes of death.

The underlying causes of this crisis are well known: speeding, reckless overtaking, fatigue, drunk and distracted driving, in­adequate road infrastructure, and poor enforcement of traffic laws.

These factors, coupled with insufficient public education and limited emergency response systems, have created conditions where preventable deaths are becoming tragically routine.

Beyond the devastating human toll, the economic impact of road crashes is significant.

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) estimates that Ghana loses about 1.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually to road crashes through medical expenses, prop­erty damage, and lost produc­tivity.

In our view, this is a cost that the nation, already grappling with economic pressures, cannot afford.

The government, through the NRSA and other agencies, has implemented measures such as speed limit enforcement, road audits, and the promotion of safer transport operations.

However, to The Ghanaian Times, these interventions are clearly insufficient. Ghana must adopt a more robust, data-driven national road safety strategy that aligns with the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safe­ty, which aims to halve global road traffic deaths by 2030.

Key priorities should include strengthening law enforce­ment-ensuring consistent and uncompromising enforcement of road safety regulations.

Infrastructure improve­ment-investing in safer road design, improved signage, and pedestrian facilities.

Driver training and licens­ing reforms-standardise driver education and introduce periodic re-certification for commercial drivers.

Public education-intensify nationwide awareness campaigns to change road user behaviour.

Emergency response sys­tems-improve accident response times and trauma care to reduce fatalities.

Equally, commercial transport unions and road user associ­ations must assume greater responsibility in policing their own members.

Road safety cannot be the sole responsibility of the state; it requires a culture of discipline and accountability from all road users.

Ghana cannot continue to lose its citizens to a crisis that is both predictable and preventable. The time has come for a coordinated, well-resourced national effort to end this needless loss of life.

Road safety must be elevated to the level of a public health priority, and every Ghanaian must be part of the solution.