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A total of 102 people died through road crashes in Accra in 2022 as against 123 recorded the previous year, the Accra Road Safety Report, 2022, has revealed.
This represents a decrease of 17 per cent compared with the figure recorded in 2021.
The report also said road crashes in Accra in 2022, fell by 22 percent to 1416 from 1808 in 2021, and people who suffered serious injuries dropped to 398 in 2022 from 463 in 2021.
The report also indicated that 677 persons sustained minor injuries in 2021 and 627 in 2022.
The report was developed by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Road Safety Authority and John Hopkins International Injury Research Unit with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Initiative for Global Road Safety, Vital Strategies with support from Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit.
It said males accounted for 82 per cent of road traffic deaths in Accra last year, and 74 per cent of serious injuries, while women accounted 18 per cent of road crashes deaths.
The report further said the highest proportion of deaths was recorded among victims aged 20 to 29 years, indicating that those patterns had been consistent over the last five years.
Launching the report in Accra on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mrs Elizabeth K.T. Sackey, said AMA was proud to be associated with the development of the report.
She said the report provided comprehensive information on road crashes, deaths and injuries as well as the characteristics of vulnerable road users, risk periods, and high- risk crash locations in Accra.
The CEO of AMA said road crashes remained one of the major causes of deaths and serious injuries in Ghana, adding that “the consequence of road traffic deaths and the cost of treatment and rehabilitation for severely inquired victims should be major concern for city administrators, road safety agencies and public health professionals.”
“The high risk fatal crash locations based on three-year geo-location crash data, were concentrated along the high-capacity roads in the city such as Avenor junction along J.A. Kufuor Avenue, Opeibea intersection along Liberation Road, Hansonic junction along Dr Busia Highway, Lapaz intersection and North Dzorwulu intersection both locations along George Walker Bush Highway,” she stated.
According to her, improving road safety required the support of all stakeholders, adding that evidence-based data was crucial to help government and its stakeholders to come out interventions to promote road safety in the country.
Mrs Sackey expressed gratitude to all the partners who supported the development of the report, saying their invaluable contributions helped to reduce road crashes in Accra in 2022.
“Special thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, and all external and local partners for their relentless effort to provide a safe space in the city, especially for vulnerable road users,” she stated.
The Director of the National Road Authority, Mr Alexander Ayatah said there had been a decline in pedestrian deaths, since the last two years (2022), even though they continued to account for the highest number of deaths.
He indicated that in 2022, vulnerable road users comprising pedestrians, bicyclist, and motorcyclists accounted for 77 per cent of the reported deaths in 2022.
BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA & PRECIOUS NYARKO BOAKYE
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