By D.I. Laary
Accra, Dec. 18, GNA – The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has welcomed Parliament’s decision to legalise commercial motorcycle and tricycle operations, popularly known as Okada, but warns that weak enforcement and rushed implementation could worsen Ghana’s rising road death toll.
The caution follows new data from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), which shows that while crash numbers are increasing moderately, fatalities are rising at a much faster rate, signalling a deepening severity crisis.
Between January and October 2025, reported crashes rose by 7.3 per cent (from 11,127 to 11,935), vehicles involved increased by 8.0 per cent, and injuries climbed by 6.5 per cent to 13,764.
However, fatalities surged by 19.2 per cent, rising from 2,038 to 2,429, while pedestrian knockdowns reached 2,062, a 3.9 per cent increase.
Despite an 8.1 per cent fall in crashes and a 7.3 per cent drop in injuries in October 2025, road deaths rose 12.7 per cent, highlighting the growing lethality of Ghana’s road crashes.
Experts attribute this to excessive speeding, unsafe road environments and weak emergency response systems, factors that disproportionately affect motorcycle riders.
NRSA figures show motorcycles made up 27.86 per cent of crash‑involved vehicles in October, up from 23.49 per cent last year, highlighting their expanding role in severe and fatal crashes.
This month Parliament passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2025, legalising commercial motorcycle and tricycle operations nationwide.
Overall, supporters have backed the move saying it would bring riders into a regulated framework of licensing, training and safety obligations.
Among them, the LRC, which has backed passage of the Bill into law but warned that enforcement gaps exist and could undermine its benefits.
“Legalising Okada is not the problem,” Mr. Enock Jengre, Programmes Officer and Rule of Law Specialist at LRC told the Ghana News Agency.
“The danger lies in legalisation without a firm, enforceable regulatory regime. We must regulate before we rush to operationalise.”
He said the law’s success would depend on mandatory DVLA licensing, structured rider training, zoning, and visible rider identification, alongside the swift rollout of mandatory helmet standards.
“Education without enforcement becomes entertainment,” he stated. “Compliance improves only when people expect real penalties.”
Also worrying, Mr. Jengre said, is the widespread use of substandard helmets, which offer little real protection.
He welcomed the Ghana Standards Authority’s upcoming mandatory certification regime, noting: “A helmet law without standards does not protect lives.”
Yet, speeding remains Ghana’s leading road crash risk. Despite posted limits, 100 km/h on the Accra–Tema Motorway, 90 km/h on highways, and 50 km/h in settlements, compliance is low, according to NRSA.
Mr. David Osafo Adonteng, former NRSA Director-General, had described speeding during a road safety engagement as “the lone ranger killing people, maiming them, and destroying property.”
As Ghana awaits presidential assent to the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the LRC insists that legalisation must be matched by robust enforcement and infrastructure reform.
“If we regulate firmly, enforce consistently, and design our roads for mixed traffic, Okada reform can save lives. If we rush it, the statistics will only get worse.”
For Ghana’s road safety advocates, the challenge is unmistakable: fewer crashes must also mean fewer deaths.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie