A total of 13,489 road traffic crashes were reported from January to December 2024, the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has revealed.

The crashes resulted in 18,101 casualties comprising 2,494 deaths and 15,607 injuries involving 22,975 private, commercial, motorbikes and vehicles.

Also, there was a decrease in vehicles involved in crashes. 2024 recorded 22,975, while there were 23,998 crashes in 2023.

Again, people killed as a result of road crashes increased to 2,494 in 2024 from 2,276 in 2023.

In terms of people injured, the figure increased from 15,409 in 2023 to 15,607 in 2024, while pedestrian knockdowns decreased from 2,395 in 2024 and 2,559 in 2023.

For the first quarter of the year 2025, a total number 6,143 vehicles were involved in an accident.

Within the same period, a total number of accident cases reported were 3,674, persons injured 4,287, commercial vehicles involved in accidents 2,095, with private cars representing 2,473, motorcycles 1,575 and persons killed 752.

The above figures were revealed during a stakeholder consultation forum organised by the Authority in Accra last Wednesday.

Road safety

The meeting was attended by representatives from the police, Driver and Licensing Authority, NRSA, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to find solutions to reducing road crashes.

The participants called on the NRSA and other authorities such as the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to step up their game to improve road safety.

They suggested, among others, the implementation of the restriction on Powered Two/Three Wheelers on certain categories of road; road design having speed reducing mechanism, and road signs properly placed to improve traffic visibility.

For commercial vehicles, they called for speed limiters to be installed and drivers to be properly certified and professionally tracked through a database system.

They added that the NRSA must play a crucial role in the ongoing standardisation for crash helmets.

NRSA

In response to the suggestions, the acting Director-General, of the NRSA, Abraham Amaliba, said the Authority would write to other authorities concerned with road safety issues, to discharge their responsibilities well.

He indicated that they had begun removing billboards that blocked the view of motorists, saying that the exercise would continue until there was proper visibility on the roads.

“In the meantime, we are going to call the Advertisers Association and the district assemblies to draw their attention to safety standards when issuing permits.

In view of safety on the part of motorbike riders, Mr Amaliba said the Authority in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority would prescribe a certified helmet for riders.  

Service operators

The Director of Regulations, Inspections and Compliance at NRSA, Kwame Koduah Atuahene, presented findings on the operational audit and registration of transport operators for 2024 based on some indicators in the law.

The indicators included registering with the Authority, vehicle maintenance programme, pre-departure inspections, trained drivers, vehicle log book, speed programme, alcohol and a Drug Policy.

According to Mr Atuahene, the overall compliance rate of service operators was at 45 per cent.

To improve service quality, he said the NRSA planned to implement stricter measures, such as ensure service operators’ register with NRSA, provide accreditation badges for vulcanisers and educate the public to demand better services.

“We are not just talking about transport operators, other service operators such as school buses are included.

We want the public to begin to demand, which can push the service operators to comply,” he said.