It is no longer news that motorbike accidents in our country have shot up, leaving behind a chilling trail of mangled bodies, grieving families and broken dreams.
What is newsworthy—and deeply frightening—is how normalised this tragedy has become.
On any given day, one witnesses daredevil riders performing circus-like stunts, as though the highways were a theatre stage and death itself was the cheering audience.
Sadly, many of these theatrics end in real-life horror: crushed skulls, amputated limbs, and young lives extinguished in seconds.
The sight has become all too common: a rider balancing precariously on one wheel, arms spread wide as if auditioning for a superhero film, while his pillion rider—sometimes a minor—is clinging on, helmetless, terrified yet trying to appear brave.
Some dangle dangerously off the back like circus performers, except that there is no safety net—only speeding cars and unyielding asphalt.
Many who escape the cold hand of death live to pay a high price: maimed for life, bedridden, or condemned to a lifetime of dependency, their youthful vigour replaced with pain and despair.
My heart missed a beat recently when, in traffic, I confronted one such reckless rider who had a minor clinging to him like a rag doll on a rollercoaster.
His response chilled me: “Is he your child?” That question struck like thunder. In truth, every child on the back of a motorbike is our child.
Every young man who dies under the weight of a crushed skull is a son of this nation.
Every woman maimed in these senseless crashes is a sister whose dreams have been violently aborted.
And yet, in the name of politics, our leaders sometimes fan this madness tacitly. Not long ago, during a political procession, stunt riders turned the rally into a circus of death.
To my dismay, adults—many aspiring to lead this nation—looked on, amused and even applauded, all because the spectacle served their political agenda.
Scary statistics
Statistics paint a picture far grimmer than words can. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), motorcycle crashes account for nearly a quarter of all road deaths globally.
Across Ghana’s roads in 2025 so far, motorcycles are estimated to account for nearly 45 per cent of road accident deaths, per some local journal analyses, with thousands more injured.
Each number is not just a statistic—it is a father who will never return home, a young woman whose legs have been amputated, a breadwinner whose family has been plunged into grief and hopelessness.
Behind every digit lies a story of children forced to grow up without parents, wives widowed too soon, and parents burying their sons and daughters in the prime of life.
The sorrow inflicted on families is indescribable. Imagine a mother who receives a call at dawn that her son’s body lies in the morgue, his dreams buried under a heap of twisted metal.
Picture a young bride who must now push her husband in a wheelchair because what was supposed to be their shared journey of joy has turned into a lifetime of care.
These are the silent screams that echo beyond the accident scenes—the enduring pain that households must carry long after the headlines fade.
Jurisdictions
Other jurisdictions have not folded their arms in the face of this scourge.
In Vietnam, where motorbike use was spiralling out of control, the government introduced mandatory helmet laws, coupled with heavy fines and police crackdowns.
Today, helmet compliance is above 90 per cent, and countless lives have been saved.
In Rwanda, strict traffic enforcement, coupled with digital tracking of commercial motorbikes, has brought sanity to the streets.
Riders who break the law face swift consequences, not half-hearted lectures. In many European countries, stunts on highways would land riders not just in jail but in the courts of public disgrace.
When I spoke to a senior police officer about this, his response just re-echoed helplessness and pessimism: “When they are arrested, they come under a so-called association, and ‘order from above’ directs their release.” Awful!
Why should our streets remain a playground of recklessness?
We cannot sit idle while our youth, the future of this land, are being slaughtered on the altar of motorbike indiscipline.
Just as we worry about drug abuse and galamsey, we must recognise that the motorbike menace is an equally potent destroyer of lives and potential.
Yes, there was a time when bikers were relatively disciplined.
Only a few months ago, many could be seen stopping at red lights, respecting traffic signals.
But like an expired promise, that brief sanity has evaporated. Now, red lights are ignored, helmets are discarded, and rules are treated as suggestions.
Ramifications
The result? Carnage, sorrow and economic loss to the nation. A month ago, a motorbike rider lost his life at Abeka Junction in a horrific crash that left him with severe head injuries, his brain literally scooped out of his skull.
The gruesome scene is still etched in my memory.
Just last Friday, another rider met a tragic end at Alajo Junction, hit by a cargo truck that dragged his lifeless body on the asphalt before finally coming to a stop.
These are just two of the frequent, gruesome motorbike accident scenes I have witnessed on my way to and from work.
This is the time to act through stringent actions.
We must demand a national motorbike policy that prioritises safety above convenience. Enforcement agencies must stop playing blind and begin a sustained, no-nonsense crackdown.
Commercial motorbike services must be properly regulated, with helmets mandatory for both rider and passenger.
Riders found guilty of stunts, underage pillion carriage, or reckless speeding must face immediate sanctions, including confiscation of their motorbikes.
Public campaigns must hammer home the message that recklessness is not bravery—it is slow suicide.
The future of our nation is riding on these motorbikes.
If we lose them, we lose our builders, innovators and leaders of tomorrow.
We must not let our highways remain theatres of blood.
We must not let our mothers continue to weep over coffins filled too soon.
We must act now, decisively and uncompromisingly.
The motorbike scourge must end, or it will end us.
The writer is the
Night Editor of the Daily Graphic.
E-mail: samuel.bio@graphic.com.gh
