Road accidents claim 2,249 lives in 2012

About 2,200 Ghanaians lost their lives through road accidents in 2012. This is according to provisional statistics released by the Road Safety Commission.

Some 14,169 others were injured, some of them possibly disabled for life.

Communications Director at the Road Safety Commission Lawyer Kwame Atuahene disclosed this in an interview with Joy FM.

“For the number of persons who got killed, there’s some four percent reduction [over the 2011 figure] but that is way below the expectation of the commission at the beginning of the year,” he said.

“A region like Ashanti which for years had gained some notoriety for road traffic-related fatalities – the second most accident-prone region in the country for a long time- in 2012 they appear to have done a lot more well recording a thirty percent reduction. The same can be said of the Northern Region. These are the few positive signs that are trying to emerge.”

A new year has begun and the Road Safety Commission and other stakeholders in the roads sector, including the Highways Authority, are setting high goals with the ultimate aim of reducing road traffic-related deaths.

There’s however concern that most of these high hopes will only be dashed because there’s little commitment from government and the other stakeholders to protect lives on the roads.