Road accidents claim 2,249 lives this year
Road accidents claimed 2,249 lives in the country in 2012, the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service has said.
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In the same period, 14,181 people sustained injuries which rendered many of them bedridden.
According to records released by the MTTU, 14,914 accident cases, involving 21,817 vehicles, were recorded across the country in 2012, as against the 13,572 accident cases, involving 19,530 vehicles, recorded in 2011.
The National MTTU Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Angwutubuge Awuni, who signed the document, indicated that in 2011, 2,330 road users died from road traffic accidents across the country.
He said for the past five years — between 2008 and 2012 — as many as 9,446 road users had perished through vehicular accidents, while 55,798 others sustained various degrees of injury, making it impossible for them to engage in any productive ventures.
Explaining, Mr Awuni said in 2008, 1,520 people perished from road traffic accidents in the country, while 7,433 others sustained various degrees of injury.
He said the death toll in accident cases nationwide increased to 1,587 the following year, with the number of injured also increasing to 9,765.
In 2010, the death toll on the road shot up to 1,760, while the number of injuries also increased to 11,147.
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The number of those who lost their lives from road traffic accidents in 2011 increased to 2,330, while the number who suffered injuries increased to 13,272.
Expressing concern over the number of fatal cases on the roads, Mr Awuni said records indicated that over the years, more males died in road traffic accidents than females.
Out of 6,339 road traffic deaths recorded between 2010 and 2012, as many as 4,652 involved males, while the rest were females.
According to the statistics, out of 1,760 road traffic deaths recorded across the country in 2010 , as many as 1,208 were males, while 552 were females.
In the case of 2011, at least 1,706 males died from road traffic accidents, as against 624 females recorded in the same year.
In 2012, 1,746 males died from road traffic accidents, as against 503 females.
Against the background of the staggering accident statistics, the MTTU Commander appealed to motorists to be cautious on the roads to reduce fatalities.
He also expressed concern over the rate of accidents in the Greater Accra Region, explaining that in 2011, Accra-Tema alone recorded as many as 6,436 accident cases, involving 8,746 vehicles.
He said 3,772 people were injured through road traffic accidents which claimed 371 lives in Accra-Tema alone.
He said in 2012, as many as 6,944 accident cases, involving 4,431 vehicles, were recorded in Accra-Tema, with about 3,867 people sustaining injuries, while 415 others died in the process.
Apart from Accra-Tema, the Ashanti Region had also been recording a high number of accident cases, causing many fatalities, he said.
In 2011, as many as 2,162 accident cases, involving 1,103 vehicles, were recorded in the region, while 453 people perished from those accidents and 2,683 sustained various degrees of injury.
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In 2012, the Ashanti Region recorded 1,797 accident cases, involving 4,388 vehicles, with those accidents claiming 314 lives, while 2,261 got injured.
Mr Awuni also mentioned the Eastern Region as another accident-prone area where many people had perished over the years.
He said, for instance, that in 2011, 1,331 accident cases, involving 1690 vehicles, were recorded in the region, claiming 270 lives, while 2,051 others got injured.
He explained that in 2012, 2,437 vehicles were involved in accidents in the Eastern Region, in which 359 deaths were recorded, and indicated that the MTTU was putting measures in place to reduce road traffic accidents in the country.
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Apart from intensifying education to create awareness among motorists and all road users, Mr Awuni said the police would also enforce road traffic regulations to instil discipline among motorists.
Story by George Ernest Asare