Ghana's road safety campaign has failed - Bureau of Public Safety boss

The Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada has expressed concerns over the rate at which people have been killed through road accidents for the first two months of this year.

He has described the situation as repulsive, abhorring and overwhelming calling for swift measures to help heighten public education in stamping out or reducing road carnages.

Provisional statistics of Road Traffic and Casualty Situation for January and February 2021 indicates that 517 people representing 31.55% have died through road accidents while 2,766 people has sustained varying levels of injuries.

The report also indicates that 4,332 vehicles including motorcycles have been involved in road accidents resulting in the 517 deaths as against 393 deaths recorded last year within the same two months period.



Yaw Akwada who was reacting to these developments on Yen Sempa morning show on Onua FM on Thursday 25 March reiterated that Ghana as a country has failed woefully in the campaign against road accidents hence the rapid rise in road death toll.

“To a large extent, we have not focused or paid the needed attention adequately on Road Safety as we should as a country and that is why at the end of every year Ghana records excess of 2000 deaths through road crashes.”

He told the host, Kwame Tutu, that it was pathetic and upsetting that such huge numbers of strong and energetic people are dying every year yet less attention is given to the road safety sector as compared to other countries.

He wants the government to commit more resources into Road Safety as well as introducing strong regulations and a system to avert the situation.

Akwada further indicated that the leadership of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) is progressively doing a great job in terms of public education yet the effort is not reflecting on the road.

He is of the view that until leaders are held accountable by pasting pictures of people who have died through road accidents at their offices demanding robust changes in the system, they will do lip services and would do little else.

The Bureau of Public Safety boss urged the government to introduce pragmatic measures like the introduction of spot fines and deepen highway patrol services in compelling drivers and road users to comply with the road safety regulations.