Two Thousand People Killed Annually In Road Crashes Nationwide

A total of 2,000 people die annually through road accidents nationwide with seventy percent of them being men in the economically active age-group, Mr. Abraham Zaato, Assistant Planning Officer of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), has said. He said between 1999 and 2011, some 32,007 people lost their lives in road accidents with 102,554 sustaining serious injuries. Mr Zaato said �The economically active age-group is dying in road crashes and this will have adverse effect on the nation�s developmental agenda.� Mr. Zaato painted a gloomy picture of the fatalities on the nation�s roads at a day�s workshop to sensitize Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Central regions to strategize and mainstream road safety activities to curb road accidents in the country. It was jointly organized by the NRSC and the Local Government Service Secretariat (LGSS) for Coordinating Directors of MMDAs to among others identify a department responsible for road safety assign an officer for such activities with support from national service personnel. Mr. Stephen Anokye, the Central Regional Director of the Commission, told the GNA that 155 people were killed in the 611 reported motor crashes within the second half of this year with another 1,249 injured. Mr. Theophilus Aidoo, the District Chief Executive for Gomoa West, expressed concern about the rampant accidents on the Cape Coast/ Kasoa road and pledged the Assembly�s readiness to involve all stakeholders in road safety activities to prevent accidents. The Commission was established as a coordinating body to coordinate all activities concerning road safety to facilitate best road safety practices to help Ghana to minimize its fatalities to a single digit by 2015. It is therefore including all stakeholders including educational institutions, religious bodies, politicians, judiciary, civil society organizations and the MMDAs in its activities to ensure a holistic approach to road safety issues.