Road accidents kill 1,141 in first 6 months of 2020

The number of commuters killed in road traffic crashes between January and June 2020 has dropped by 8.79% compared with the same period in 2019.

The figure dropped from 1,251 in the first half of last year to 1,141 in the same period this year.

Data compiled by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service indicates that 909 males, comprising 842 above 18 years and 67 below 18 years, were killed in road crashes in the first half of this year.

On the other hand, 232 females, made up of 175 above 18 years and 57 below 18 years, also lost their lives during the period.

The data showed a 22.85% decrease in pedestrian knockdowns as the figure dropped from 1,523 last year compared to 1,175 this year.

Also, the number of pedestrians killed dropped from 381 between January and June 2019 to 305 in 2020.

Road traffic crashes involving motorcycles killed 440 and injured 2,080 commuters in the first half of this year.

Motorcycles crashes recorded a 12.98% increase between January and June this year, spiking to 2,553 compared with the 2,260 in the same period last year.

According to the data, the number of commuters injured this year decreased by 4.41%, recording 6,822, compared with 7,137 last year.

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes went down marginally by 1.09% from 11,137 last year to 11,250 this year.

The MTTD data reveals that private vehicles killed 246 and injured 1,463 during the period.

The number of crashes involving private vehicles recorded a 8.21% decline from 4,826 last year to 4,430 this year.

The statistics show that crashes involving commercial vehicles killed 455 and injured 3,279 commuters in the first six months of this year.

The number of commercial vehicles involved in accident declined marginally by 0.48% from 4,174 last year to 4,154 this year.

The total number of crashes reported dropped from 6,908 last year to 6,675 in the first half of this year.