Road Traffic Issues in Ghana- Getting Bigger by the Day

The past few years have witnessed several people write about the distressing situation of roads in Ghana. The country’s road is suffering from a series of serious ailments. These include pollution, congestion, and of course crashes. 

If you look at the statistics, you’ll find that road injury is one of the top ten causes of death in Ghana. You’ll struggle to find a car accident attorney in the country who is not busy due to the constantly growing number of road accidents.

A recent report revealed that Ghana sees expenses of close to $230 million on trauma and emergency care related to motor accidents annually. Read on to know more about road traffic issues in Ghana.

Standard Practices Are Showing Little Results 

Ghana faces a serious loss of productivity due to constant traffic jams. However, that’s not the only problem resulting from traffic jams. These jams also lead to environmental damage and a rise in cases of respiratory diseases. However, the biggest road traffic problem the country is facing at the moment is the continuous increase in the number of road accidents. What’s making things even worse for the country is that standard practices have failed to improve the situation.

The government has taken certain steps to mitigate the issue. However, the numbers are still pretty alarming. According to a recent report, on average, the first half of 2021 has witnessed as many as 43 injuries and around eight deaths per day on roads in Ghana.

Earlier, experts suggested that educating drivers can help in bringing down the number of road accidents in the country. However, that solution didn’t seem to offer desired results. What’s more, numbers also show that there has been little change in the frequency of road accidents despite an increase in the number of arrests.

The Authorities Are Looking for Solutions Beyond the Traditional Measures 

Most Ghanaians used to believe that major causes of road accidents including drunk driving can be resolved just by increasing the number of arrests. They believed that the strict prosecutions and longer sentences will be enough to change the scenario.

The fact is that drivers who engage in substance abuse or alcohol consumption do so primarily for dealing with extreme fatigue resulting from long hours of driving. The fear of getting arrested couldn’t stop them from doing so. That’s because commercial drivers typically feel that it’s more important to drive for a longer duration and earn more than anything else. Alcohol and similar substances allow them to stay awake for an extended period.

Indeed, increased imprisonment and policing can help in identifying these drivers and removing them from their jobs. However, this measure is unlikely to bring an end to issues like job insecurity and dangerous working conditions.

As the problems appear to be pretty multi-layered, traditional measures are unlikely to help much. The government must bring in policies that would help drivers to have a better lifestyle and more secure lives. However, as Ghana is not a very rich country, such changes cannot occur overnight. It would require in-depth analyses of statistics and lots of planning to change policies and see the desired impact of those changes.