A total of 139 persons died in the Central Region through motor accidents from January to October 2023, indicating a 13.3 per cent reduction compared to the 163 cases in 2022.

Commercial vehicles recorded the highest number of accidents, followed by private and motorcycles registering 541, 505 and 281 respectively.

Generally, road crashes decreased by 3.4 per cent, from 875 to 845, whilst people injured, however, increased from 1,270 to 1,448 people, representing a 14.0 per cent increase over the same period.

Linda Affotey-Annang, Regional Head of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

She was speaking on this year’s World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims which was started by RoadPeace, a Charity for Road Crash Victims, in 1993.

In 2005, the UN endorsed it as a global day to be observed every third Sunday in November each year.

The Day rallies appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic injuries and advocates for better support for victims, and bereaved families and promotes action to save lives.

“Justice” was the theme for this year’s celebration to remind all that victims of road traffic crashes deserve justice and fair treatment.

As part of the celebration, the NRSA in collaboration with the National Insurance Commission, DVLA, and Ghana Police Service with support from Solidaridad, an NGO, sensitized drivers and later donated items to the Winneba Trauma Specialist Hospital.

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 of road accidents, including overspending 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 a mobile phone conversation or WhatsApp chatting while driving.

“Keep 100 per cent of your attention on driving at all times, no multitasking.

“Don’t use your phone or any other electronic device while driving. Slow down where necessary because speeding gives you less time to react and this increases the severity of an accident,” she noted.

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 crosscheck facts and not over-sensitise 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 caused poor visibility due a foggy weather, and blurring vision.

“So, motorists should be careful and check their lights when it’s hazy. The windscreen should be clean and the wiper working,” Ms Affotey-Annang said.