1,808 crashes kill 123 people within Accra in 2021

The number of reported road traffic crashes in Accra rose from 1,774 in 2020 to 1,808 in 2021 – a two per cent increase, however, deaths declined from 136 in 2020 to 123 in 2021, a nine per cent decrease.

Speeding remained the main risk factor for severe road accidents globally and locally and that overall speeding has increased from 50% in 2021 to 51%  in 2022.

Motorcycles top the list of vehicles observed to be speeding over the posted limit.

This could be attributed to high patronization of motorcycles for private and commercial purposes.

According to the report, vulnerable road users comprising pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists – made up 80% of road traffic deaths in Accra in 2021.

Per the data, males accounted for more than 70% of the deaths and serious injuries with the highest proportion of deaths recorded among victims aged 20 to 29 years.

According to the report road traffic deaths also declined from 136 in 2020 to 123 in 2021 representing a nine per cent decrease with deaths per 100,000 population dropping from 6.3 in 2020 to 5.4 in 2021.

These are contained in the Accra Road Safety Report for 2021.

The report was launched to help implement context-specific and evidence-based interventions to minimise road traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries in the metropolis.

It was launched by Mrs Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive at the end of a three-day Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety Regional Meeting for Africa in Accra.

The report said without the implementation of data-driven interventions, road traffic deaths and injuries were likely to increase, given the rise in motorisation in low- and middle-income countries.

“The burden of road traffic crashes poses a serious public health, social and economic problems at all levels of society, especially as the majority of those who perish are young people in their prime working to make a living to support their families,” it noted.

Mrs Sackey disclosed that findings from the road injury risk factor observational studies showed a 51% prevalence of speeding in Accra in the most recent rounds of assessment in 2022 citing motorcycles as vehicles that top the list observed to be speeding above the posted limit and urged the Police MTTD to pay particular attention to motor riders when carrying out speed enforcement to help reduce speeding.

“Although our dear city has recorded a slight decrease in deaths, we cannot rest until our roads are safe for all users. This decrease must rather stir us up to double our efforts in our various interventions leaning against the confidence that we can achieve so much by putting in more effort, ” she said.

She admonished road safety institutions to use this report effectively to guide interventions being undertaken to reduce road crashes in the city.

“It is critical that all of us at the forefront of road safety stakeholder institutions redouble our efforts to ensure political commitment and responsibility for acting on road safety…I am without doubt that this report will help provide ongoing monitoring of road crash outcomes in the city and to plan and monitor road safety intervention, ” she said.

The 2021 Accra Road Safety Report also presents information on victim characteristics to identify the most vulnerable to severe road crashes highlighting the Opeibea intersection, Lapaz intersection, North Dzorwulu intersection, Hansonic junction, Kawukudi intersection and George Walker Bush Highway (N1) as high-risk locations for fatal crashes in Accra.