Poor national response driving 2025 road crash surge – NRSA

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) says Ghana’s inadequate responsiveness to road safety is a key driver behind the surge in road crashes recorded in 2025.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Mrs Pearl Adusu Sateckla, Public Relations Officer of the NRSA, said national commitment to road safety interventions fell far below the level required to curb the worrying trend.

“If the same level of commitment shown during COVID-19 was devoted to road safety, the outcomes will be drastically different,” she said.

“Road safety programmes, innovations, and technology require strong financial backing. When funds are inadequate, we cannot meet global standards.”

The Authority recorded increases across all major indicators – crashes, fatalities, injuries, and pedestrian knockdowns – from January to October this year, with the exception of the month of October, which recorded temporary reductions in some categories.

From January to October 2025, the country experienced 11,935 crashes, compared to 11,127 within the same period last year, representing a 7.3 per cent increase. Vehicles involved in crashes rose from 18,879 to 20,397, while fatalities increased by more than 300, reaching 2,429.

Injuries also climbed from 12,921 last year January to October to 13,764 within the same period this year.

Mrs Sateckla attributed the rise to a combination of reckless behaviour, weak enforcement, failing traffic systems, and deteriorating road infrastructure.

She noted that broken traffic lights, faded road markings, poor road conditions, and limited enforcement resources created an environment where drivers relaxed their discipline.

“When systems break down, road users also break down in behaviour. That is when we see the fatal outcomes,” she said.

She added that the NRSA and its partner agencies were working to implement long-term solutions, including the registration of transport unions and large corporate fleets, data-driven driver management, and the anticipated rollout of automated enforcement under the upcoming revised Road Traffic Regulations.

“With technology-led enforcement, drivers who speed, jump red lights or overload will be automatically sanctioned. Once a few offenders are caught, compliance will improve,” she said.

Mrs Sateckla noted that behind every statistic were human lives and families devastated by loss or permanent injury.

“We cannot treat these numbers as mere figures. They represent real people. We need a stronger national response to prevent further tragedies,” she said.

Source: GNA

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