Wednesday, 10 September

A/R: 3,000 deaths due to road crashes over 5 years

News
Road accident

The Ashanti Region has recorded a total of 3,131 deaths from road crashes over a period of five years and seven months, making the roads in the region the deadliest in the country.

The National Road Safety Authority reported that 2,831 deaths occurred between January 2020 and December 2024.

Additionally, from January 2025 to July 2025, the region experienced 441 fatalities, bringing the total to 3,131.

These 441 deaths in 2025 represent 25 per cent of the national toll, making it not only the highest number of fatalities but also the highest number of injuries.

This information was shared during the second road safety journalism training organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in collaboration with Vital Strategies (VS). 

The training focused on speed management and helmet standards as part of a project titled 'Supporting Advocacy Interventions Towards the Passage into Law of the Reviewed Road Traffic Act and the Development of Standards for Motorcycle Helmets'.

Kwasi Agyemang Boateng, the Regional Road Safety Director, who disclosed this, described the road safety situation in the region as "deadly" during an interview with Kumasi FM's Elisha Adarkwah. 

He emphasised the need for consistent and intensified road safety education and enforcement within the transportation system. 

Boateng also pointed out that poor road infrastructure, behavioural issues, and traffic errors contributed to the problem, advocating for engineering solutions to address these challenges.

Enock Jengre, a Programme Officer at the Legal Resource Centre (LRC), explained that the purpose of the training was to encourage journalists and news editors to utilise their platforms to promote road safety and help reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

While reporting on road crashes is crucial, Ms Mavis Obeng Mensah, Communications Director at the Blomberge Philanthropic Initiative for Global Road Safety Ghana (BIGRS), urged journalists to seek solutions to the dilemmas surrounding road crashes through solutions journalism.

Source: classfmonline.com