A total of 139 people died in the Central Region through motor accidents from January to October 2023, indicating a 13.3 percent reduction compared to the 163 cases in 2022, according to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
Furthermore, commercial vehicles recorded the highest number of accidents, followed by private vehicles and motorcycles, registering 541, 505 and 281 accidents, respectively.
Generally, road crashes decreased by 3.4 percent, from 875 to 845, while people injured, however, increased from 1,270 to 1,448 people, representing a 14.0 percent increase over the same period.
Ms. Linda Affotey-Annang, Regional Head of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), disclosed this at this year’s World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims, which was started by RoadPeace, a charity for road crash victims, in 1993.
Ms. Affotey-Annang said although the reduction in road accidents was “great news,” stakeholders needed to work together to further bring it down.
She attributed the reduction to sustained road safety education and cautioned against major factors in road accidents, including over-speeding and the use of drugs.
Others are driving tired, wrongful overtaking, inexperienced drivers at the wheel, disabled vehicles and general disregard for road regulations.
According to her, the Kasoa-Buduburam-Winneba junction, Mankessim-Cape Coast to Komenda junction and Yamoransa-Assin Praso sections of the highway recorded the highest number of road accidents.
She advised drivers to be cautious on the road and stop engaging in mobile phone conversations or texting while driving.
Pedestrians were also charged to give drivers enough indication of their intention to cross the road, avoid unnecessary obstructions and interference, and stay focused when crossing the road. They should not use phones while crossing the road and cross at the designated zebra crossing, footbridges, near intersections, junctions and roundabouts.
She called on owners of vehicles and stakeholders to collaborate to ensure the roads did not become death traps. The media should also cross-check facts and not oversensitize motor accidents.
Assuring intensified road safety education before, during and after the Yuletide, she cautioned drivers and motorcycle riders to take key precautionary measures following the harmattan season, which causes poor visibility due to foggy weather and blurry vision.
Photo: myjoyonline
