The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has said that the number of road accidents recorded in 2016 has increased by about 2,000 cases from the previous year.
The Head of Communications at the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) Kwame Kodua Atuahene in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said this increase is particularly worrying even though it is an election year.
“This year has been particularly challenging, you look at the figures against the targets we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year and it’s been one of a worrying report. We set out that by the end of the year, traffic-related death will not exceed 1,440 but as at November we are almost at 2,000.”
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“We did not anticipate that we will get here. When you look at the data for the last three years, every year we have recorded a decline in all the indicators. The trends have been that in every election year we have new kinds of challenges which could be addressed.”
The Commission said they were working tirelessly with the Police Service to increase visibility and ensure road safety.
“The Police have been asked to increase their visibility for the next few till the end of the year.”
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In a related development, forty-four people died in road accidents in the three-day period between December 7 and December 10, 2016.
The period saw the election and declaration of Ghana’s much awaited general elections.
According to the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), 100 accidents were recorded during the said period involving over 157 vehicles.
While the death toll from stands at 44, a total of 167 people also sustained varying degrees of injuries in these accidents.