National emergency on our roads
The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has released the latest road traffic crash statistics, which are nothing but a grim reminder of the devastating toll on our roads.
The statistics paint a harrowing picture of loss and tragedy, with numbers that are as shocking as they are heartbreaking.
In 2025 alone, 2,949 people lost their lives on our roads — the highest annual road fatality figure in 35 years.
Behind this chilling number are fathers, mothers, breadwinners, children, professionals and future leaders whose lives were cut short unnecessarily.
Since 1991, road crashes have killed 63,599 people in Ghana.
That figure exceeds the population of many districts. If this does not call for a national emergency, then the Daily Graphic wonders what incident will be considered so.
What makes this tragedy even more painful is that it is largely preventable.
The NRSA itself has admitted that the spike in road crashes, injuries and deaths was driven in part by its inactivity due to logistical and funding constraints.
In plain terms, we failed as a country to invest adequately in road safety, and nearly 3,000 citizens paid with their lives in just one year.
This failure should be a blot on our national conscience.
Road safety is not a peripheral issue. It is not a seasonal campaign or a footnote in the national budget. It is a development issue, a public health crisis, and a national security concern.
A country that allows its roads to slaughter its people cannot speak meaningfully about productivity, human capital or sustainable development.
We are losing our most valuable national asset, our human resource, at an alarming and unacceptable rate.
The data paint a grim picture. Eight out of every 10 people killed were men, the most economically active segment of the population.
One in every seven deaths was a child. Motorbikes, whose commercial use is expanding rapidly, recorded the highest increase in involvement in crashes.
Some regions recorded disproportionately high fatalities relative to the number of crashes, pointing to poor emergency response, dangerous road design and weak enforcement.
Yet, year after year, road safety remains underfunded, under-prioritised and treated with complacency.
As a country, it is time we appreciated the fact that funding the NRSA adequately is essential.
A regulator without resources cannot educate drivers, enforce standards, monitor compliance or save lives.
The revelation that some regional offices of the NRSA were “virtually closed” last year should alarm policymakers.
If we starve the institution mandated to protect lives on our roads, we should not be surprised when death numbers soar.
But funding alone is not enough. We must confront the systemic causes of road carnage.
Our roads are riddled with potholes, faded markings, missing signs and poor lighting. Driver fatigue, driven by pressure to meet unrealistic daily sales targets, especially among commercial drivers, continues to claim lives. Mechanical neglect, overloading, speeding, drunk driving and reckless overtaking remain rampant. Unfortunately, enforcement is often sporadic, predictable and, at times, compromised.
Other countries faced similar crises and acted decisively. Sweden’s “Vision Zero” policy treats every road death as unacceptable and designs roads to forgive human error.
The United Kingdom combines strict enforcement, vehicle standards and sustained public education, cutting fatalities dramatically over decades.
Rwanda, closer to home, enforced helmet use, speed control and professionalised public transport, achieving notable reductions in road deaths.
These successes were the result of political will, sustained investment and public discipline.
Ghana can do the same if it choosse to.
The Daily Graphic calls for prioritisation of road safety funding.
We must also redesign dangerous roads, enforce traffic laws without fear or favour, regulate commercial motorcycling rigorously, and hold transport operators accountable for driver welfare and vehicle maintenance.
Public education must be continuous, not episodic.
Emergency response systems must be strengthened so crashes do not automatically translate into deaths.
Ultimately, everybody has a role to play.
Authorities must act decisively.
Parliament must fund adequately.
Law enforcement must be consistent.
Transport unions must reform practices.
And citizens must change attitudes.
If we do nothing, the numbers will rise.
If we act, lives will be saved.
