About 40 percent of the deaths recorded on the country’s roads in the first half of this year were due to motorcycle crashes, according to the Motor Traffic and Transport Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.
“These few crashes accounted for 440 deaths out of 1,141 from January to June,” Superintendent Alexander Obeng, the Director in charge of education, research and training at the MTTD said to Citi News.
“The motorcycle impact on our lives is worrying,” he added.
In comparison, for the entirety of 2019, there were 732 deaths resulting from 4,643 motorcycle crashes.
The data on motorcycle crash factors in incidents involving bicycles and tricycles.
These figures, although less than those recorded by commercial vehicles and private cars are still a worrying development for the MTTD.
It is, therefore, admonishing motorists to ensure that they observe all road traffic regulations to avert casualties.
“Apart from our enforcement efforts, we will use this opportunity to admonish all Ghanaians to comply with motorcycle use protocols,” Superintendent Obeng said.
In general, the National Road Safety Authority says there has been a 14 percent decline in road traffic deaths as at the end of May 2020.
Provisional statistics on road traffic crashes indicated that 5,465 crashes involving 9,163 vehicles were recorded, resulting in 958 incidents of pedestrian knockdowns, 909 fatalities and 5,703 injuries.
Compared to the same period in 2019, the Authority says the 2020 situation saw a reduction in reported cases and fatalities by 5.22 percent and 14.49 percent respectively.
The authority, however, noted that there was a 12.64 percent increase in fatalities involving motorcycle users over the period.
