12,380 people injured in Road Accidents from Jan to Oct 2020

12,380 persons were injured in road accidents with 2,080 persons losing their lives in Ghana from January to October this year.

This represented a six percent rise with respect to last year’s figure of 11,396 crashes.

The breakdown included 7,618 crashes involving commercial vehicles and 4,629 crashes involving motorcycles.

The Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of cases followed by the Ashanti Region with 3,448 and 2,726 respectively.

Superintendent of Police (Supt) Dr. Sasu Mensah, Director of Operations of the Motor Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service stated that the crashes involved 2,209 pedestrians.

He noted that the numerous accidents were due to human error and disorderliness on the part of road users and drivers.

“We, the MTTD, would enforce the law and continue to educate and intensify our educational programmes to aid the public,” Dr. Mensah added.

He added that most of the accidents could have been prevented had drivers and pedestrians paid attention to the guidelines concerning road safety.

The Director stressed the need for road accidents to be minimized as they affected the human resource and socio-economic value of the country.

With the elections drawing near, he cautioned political parties to observe road safety regulations such as using the authorised vehicles for campaigns and the unauthorized use of motorcycles.

He further urged the need for drivers to desist from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.