Road accidents have been a canker that has plagued Ghanaians for a number of years. A lot of people perish on Ghanaian roads day-in and day-out across the country.
Statistics show that four people die daily on Ghanaian roads due to road accident. Estimates show that Ghana loses over 230 million dollars yearly due to road accidents with more than 1600 deaths.
According to statistics released recently by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MMTD) of the Ghana Police Service, road accidents are on the rise.
There was a 3.3% increase in the number of commuters killed in road accidents between January and June 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.
According to the data, the number of commuters killed rose from 1,212 in the first half of 2018 to 1,252 during the first six months of 2019.
READ ALSO: Gov’t delegation involved in accident; 3 in critical condition
The number of pedestrians knocked down also dropped from 1,619 in the same period last year to 1,503 this year.
The data indicates that the number of persons injured recorded a 15.5% jump, increasing from 6,689 in the first half of last year to 7,043 in the same period in 2019.
According to the records, the total number of vehicles involved in accidents increased from 11,053 to 11,167, representing a 1.03% rise.
It revealed that males 18 years and below killed were 126 while males above 18 years killed hit 808, bringing the total to 934.
On the other hand, females below 18 years who lost their lives were 86 while females above 18 years killed in road traffic crashes totalled 232.
The data also showed that of the 1,585 victims of motorcycle accidents, 364 were killed and the number of motorcycles involved in accidents was 2,284, an increase of 16.6% from the 1,937 motorcycle accidents in the first half of 2018.
It came to light that commercial vehicles involved in accidents declined by 4.81% from 4,342 in the first half of last year to 4,133 in the same period this year.
There was 1.47% increase in the number of cases reported from 6,745 in the first half of last year to 6,844 during the same period this year.
