At a road safety journalism training in Accra, experts said there was the need for improved road designs, helmet standards, and enforcement mechanisms. They said despite increased media-led awareness campaigns in recent years, traffic-related deaths remain alarmingly high. 

The call was made during the second Road Safety Journalism Training organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), in partnership with the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA). The programme focused on speed management and helmet use under LRC’s project titled “Supporting Advocacy Interventions towards the Passage of the Reviewed Road Safety Act and the Development of Standards on Motorcycle Helmets.” 

Some statistics shared at the training showed that the latest NRSA data indicated that traffic fatalities rose by 20 per cent in the first eight months of 2025, with 1,937 deaths, compared to 1,614 during the same period in 2024. The data showed that reported cases also increased by 11.2 percent to 9,626, while injuries rose by 10.2 percent to 10,957. It said excessive speeding remained the leading cause, contributing to over 60 per cent of all collisions, and that motorcyclists and pedestrians were disproportionately affected. 

The NRSA report also showed that Ashanti, Greater Accra, and Eastern regions accounted for 75 per cent of all traffic deaths between January and August 2025. The Ashanti Region recorded the highest share at 41 per cent, followed by Greater Accra at 34 per cent, which also saw a 16.2 per cent increase in crashes, it said. The experts said the regional concentration underscored the inadequacy of current infrastructure and enforcement in managing traffic volumes in urban corridors. 

Mr Denis Yeribu, the Principal Planning Manager at NRSA, identified over speeding, inexperience, inattentive driving, and improper overtaking as key contributors to fatal crashes. “Speeding underlies most of these factors and accounts for over 60 per cent of collisions nationwide,” he said, adding that motorcyclists, pedestrians, and passengers in commercial vehicles were the most frequent victims.

Addressing participants, Mr Enock Jengre, the Programmes Officer at LRC, stressed the urgent need for national helmet standards. “Between January and June 2025 alone, over 1,500 motorcycle crashes were recorded. Yet our laws do not specify acceptable helmet types. This gap is costing lives,” he said. 

He stated that the Ghana Standards Authority, in collaboration with BIGRS and civil society partners, had developed draft helmet standards currently under review. “We are advocating for these standards to be mandatory. Optional standards will not solve the problem,” he said, emphasising the need for coordinated enforcement. “Every day, at least eight people die on Ghana’s roads. This is not just a transport issue; it is a public health emergency. The solution is not one piece. It is the sum of our efforts, stronger laws, safer roads, and a culture of responsibility,” Mr Jengre said. 

Mr Jengre criticised Ghana’s road designs for failing to reflect changing mobility trends in that country, stating that, there had been over 1,500 per cent increase in motorcycles in recent years, yet the roads lacked dedicated lanes for motorcycles, tricycles, or bicycles, forcing riders into dangerous interactions with larger vehicles. He cited the Pokuase-Nsawam road project as a missed opportunity, warning that retrofitting safety features after construction was often costly and impractical. He called for the revival of the stalled National Roads Authority Act, which was passed by Parliament in 2024 but had not received presidential assent. 

The Act proposed merging the Ghana Highways Authority, Department of Urban Roads, and Feeder Roads into a unified body, explaining that currently, institutions shift responsibility, therefore a unified authority would eliminate confusion and prioritise safety, he said. 

Ms Mavis Nana Ama Obeng-Mensah, the Communication Officer for BIGRS Ghana, highlighted the impact of media campaigns in changing public behaviour. She said Accra’s “School Girl” and “Surgeon” campaigns reached nearly 40 per cent of city residents, with television playing a key role. “Survey data showed that 60 per cent of respondents were more likely to obey speed limits, and 69 per cent said they tried to persuade others not to speed,” she said. Evidence from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly supports this impact. 

Between 2021 and 2022, reported crashes fell by 22 per cent, and road deaths declined by 17 per cent. However, a peer-reviewed study revealed underreporting in official records, with 345 deaths recorded across combined sources compared to 148 in hospital data alone. 

Ms Obeng-Mensah noted that Ghanaian newsrooms were increasingly using the term “crash” instead of “accident,” aligning with WHO guidance that emphasises the preventability of road incidents. She stated that responsible reporting could save lives and that journalists must go beyond statistics and highlight solutions such as helmet standards, safer road design, and enforcement