The National Road Safety Authority (NSRA) has revealed that 377 people were killed between January and October 2022 in road accidents in the Ashanti Region.
More than 3,000 also sustained various degrees of injuries within the same period.
The NRSA noted that speeding and broken-down vehicles continue to be among the major causes of road crashes in the country.
Providing a breakdown of data collated within the years, the NSRA said, “From January to October 2022, we have recorded 2,886 road crash cases in the Ashanti Region. Out of it, 4,865 vehicles were involved. We are looking at commercial, private and motorcycle. Three hundred seventy-seven (377) people got killed, and then 3,552 sustained injuries”.
The authority said that although there is a reduction in the figures compared to previous years, they are intensifying enforcement to reduce fatalities and injuries further.
“In all the categories, if you compare it to last year’s figures, we have some level of reduction, but that does not mean we should relent on our efforts. We are still putting things in place to ensure that the numbers go further down,” Ashanti Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority, Simbiat Wiredu, stated.
Madam Wiredu further outlined some major causes of road accidents and thus stated that her outfit is intensifying enforcement efforts.
She observed that stationary vehicles also contribute to most of the crashes in the region.
“Speeding continues to be a major cause of the cases. We record about 60% of road traffic crashes through speeding. Out of the speeding, we see drivers overtaking wrongfully. We are therefore urging drivers to comply with the speed limits. If you’re on a highway, -70 kilometres per hour; if you’re approaching an urban area -50 kilometres per hour maximum and if you’re approaching an urban settlement – 30 kilometres per hour. Stationary vehicles also contribute to most of the crashes.”
“So, we are urging the general public to subscribe to the national towing service by the GPRTU and ensure that within an hour, their vehicles are towed off on the highway, and within 2 hours, their vehicles are towed off within the urban areas. We are enforcing it. We are seeing to it that broken-down vehicles are cleared off our road space. The exercise will take off by the end of the year and all vehicles would be towed off whether you’ve subscribed or not,” she added.