Ten (10) persons die daily in road crashes in Ghana, with four of those deaths resulting from motorcycle accidents, popularly known as ‘okada’, according to the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).

GhIE cited unpublished data from the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) as the source of the statistics. The data expose significant gaps in road safety and policy implementation.

According to the report, a total of 14,743 road crashes were recorded, representing a 9.3 per cent increase in 2025 as compared to 2024. Fatalities rose sharply to 3,653, representing a 21.5 per cent increase compared to the previous year. It added that motorcyclists and bicyclists accounted for 39 per cent of total deaths in 2025, compared to 35 per cent in 2024.

Ghana has reported a surge in the number of fatalities resulting from road crashes this year. The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) recorded one thousand five hundred and four (1,504) deaths, compared to one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven (1,237) fatalities reported in the same period in 2024, representing a 21.58 percent increase in the first half of 2025.

According to provisional data released by the National Road Safety Authority in collaboration with the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), a total of 7,289 road crashes were recorded between January and June this year. Per the data, a total of twelve thousand three hundred and fifty-four (12,354) vehicles were involved in these crashes.

As a result of these incidents, eight thousand three hundred (8,300) individuals sustained injuries. Additionally, one thousand three hundred and one (1,301) pedestrians were knocked down across the country.

According to recent data provided by the National Road Safety Authority, on average, eight (8) lives are lost every day due to road crashes. Each day, forty (40) road crashes are recorded, and forty-six (46) individuals sustain injuries. Daily, sixty-nine (69) vehicles and motorcycles are involved in road crashes.

To help combat the rising number of road crashes, the National Road Safety Authority has called for stricter enforcement of traffic regulations and increased public education.

The NRSA has emphasized the need for stronger enforcement to curb the alarming trend. The Road Traffic Act 2004, an Act to consolidate and revise the Road Traffic Ordinance, 1952 (No. 55), provides for more comprehensive regulation of road traffic and road use to ensure safety on the roads and to address related matters.

A person who drives a motor vehicle dangerously on a road commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction:

(a) where (i) a bodily injury does not occur, or (ii) a minor bodily injury occurs to a person other than the driver, to a fine of not less than one hundred penalty units and not exceeding two hundred penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding nine months, or to both;

(b) where bodily injury of an aggravated nature occurs to a person other than the driver, to a minimum fine of two hundred penalty units and not exceeding five hundred penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than twelve months and not exceeding two years, or to both;(c) where death occurs, to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years;

(d) where there is damage to state property, to a fine of not less than one hundred penalty units and payment for the damage caused in an amount determined by the Court.

The Court may, upon conviction of a person under subsection (1), (a) order the payment of appropriate compensation to an injured person or to the estate of that person, or (b) order the withdrawal of the driver's license for a period of not less than three years and not more than five years.

A person who drives a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to both.

A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, that person:

(a) causes anything to be on or over a road;(b) interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer, or cycle; or(c) interferes, directly or indirectly, with traffic equipment, where it would be obvious to a reasonable person that doing so would be dangerous.

A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or to both.

Meanwhile, over one-third of emergency cases at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) have been linked to road crashes, according to statistics from the facility.

Speaking to the media, Deputy Medical Director of KATH, Dr. Yaw Opare Larbi, noted that road crash victims brought to the emergency unit often do not survive because their injuries are very severe.

“A little over 30 per cent of the cases that come to this facility, this Accident and Emergency Unit, are due to accidents, and most of the accidents, a few are domestic, but the majority of them are road traffic accidents.

“Now in Ghana, we know that our statistics, a lot of our road accidents are from errors, driver errors, pedestrian errors. And then we know that we have some percentage that is attributable to maybe things like faulty vehicles or maybe road conditions, but a lot of the accidents are preventable,” he stated.