By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, Feb. 10, GNA-Provisional statistics from the Western Regional office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has revealed an increase in the number of road crashes in the Region during last year.
The report showed that a total of 743 crashes were recorded between January and December 2024, as compared to 706 within same period in 2023, representing a percentage increase of 5.24 per cent.
According to the report, the total number of persons killed also increased by 55.83 per cent from 120 in 2023 to 187 in 2024, while those injured reduced from 687 in 2023 to 555 during last year, representing a percentage decrease of 19.21 per cent.
It showed that 1,119 vehicles were involved in road crashes in 2024 as against 1,284 in 2023.
The distribution revealed that road traffic crashes involving private vehicles last year were the highest in 2024 with 427, commercial vehicles recorded 423 and motorcycles/tricycles accounted for 269 of the total cases.
The records said pedestrian knockdowns reduced by 11.92 per cent in 2024 with 133 as against 151 in 2023
The fatalities by vehicle class showed that 178 persons got injured and 60 died by commercial vehicles, 207 injured and 58 died by private vehicles, 170 injured and 69 died by motorcycles/tricycles, and 90 injuries and 43 deaths were recorded through pedestrian knockdowns.
For the distribution of fatalities by sex and age, males dominated the chart with 156 and 31 females representing 83.42 per cent and 16.58 per cent respectively.
For age, a total 157 persons above the age of 18 representing 83.96 per cent and 30 individuals below 18 years representing 16.04 per cent died through road traffic crashes.
In all, the Western Region ranked fifth in the overall national road traffic crashes report for 2024 under review.
Mr Victor Kojo Bilson, Western Regional Head of the NRSA, told the Ghana News Agency that the increase in the number of cases recorded could be attributed to the bad nature of some major roads in the Region, and the disregard for road safety rules by some drivers and riders.
“Pedestrian knockdowns remain problematic due to encroachment of walkways in and around our Central Business Districts, and we need to look at these issues,” he stated.
He noted that his office would continue to embark on educational and coordinated compliance operations to help reduce and reverse the trend in the Region.
GNA