If nothing drastic is done about the carnage on our roads, the Consumer Unity and Trust Society, CUTS International, believes Ghana’s economy will continue to suffer a drain that could be prevented.
Apart from costing the country about 1.6% of GDP annually, the West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Lawyer Appiah Kusi Adomako, is worried that the statistics of road crashes for the first part are worrying, describing it as a “national tragedy.”
For him, the issue has surpassed a road safety issue. It is currently an economic, development, and national security threat that demands swift attention from the authorities.
Addressing the press, Adomako Kusi Appiah noted that, “Travelling on our roads today requires fasting, prayer and courage. It is no longer just a transport issue. It is a public health crisis, a development challenge, and a national security threat. Road crashes are killing more Ghanaians than pandemics.”
The Staggering Statistics for the First Half of 2025
Data from the Ghana Road Safety Authority shows that, between January and June 2025, Ghana recorded 7,289 road crashes involving 12,354 vehicles, leading to 1,504 deaths and over 8,300 injuries.
A total of 1,301 pedestrians were also knocked down during this period. This represents a 22% rise in deaths and a 10% increase in injuries compared to the same period in 2024.
The Ashanti Region was the deadliest, with 60 deaths in June alone, followed by the Eastern Region (46 deaths) and Greater Accra (22 deaths). Motorcycle-related accidents dominated two- and three-wheeler crashes, accounting for 73% of such incidents in June 2025, while tricycles and bicycles contributed 24% and 2% respectively.
Interestingly, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Ghana since the start of the pandemic stands at 1,462. In contrast, road crashes have claimed 1,504 lives in just six months, signalling the severity of the issue.
To break it down further, every single day in Ghana, 8 lives are lost to road crashes, 40 crashes occur across the country, 46 people are injured in these crashes, and 69 vehicles and motorcycles are involved in road crashes.
The Economic Impact
The economic cost of Ghana’s alarming surge in road crashes is staggering. With 1,504 lives lost and over 8,300 injuries recorded in just the first half of 2025, the nation is haemorrhaging both human and financial capital. Many of the victims are young, economically active individuals who are breadwinners, skilled workers, and students, whose premature deaths or disabilities diminish Ghana’s productive labour force and increase the country’s dependency ratio.
In addition, it is estimated that Ghana loses about 1.6% of its GDP annually to road traffic crashes. This is roughly equivalent to billions of cedis that could otherwise fund healthcare, education, or infrastructure. Every crash triggers a ripple effect from emergency response costs and hospital care to legal proceedings, insurance claims, and long-term family impoverishment.
The burden extends far beyond human loss. Thousands of vehicles are damaged or written off, disrupting commerce, freight movement, and public transport, essential arteries of Ghana’s informal and formal economies. Small-scale traders lose inventory.
Families are plunged into debt from medical bills and funeral expenses. Businesses suffer productivity losses due to injured or deceased staff, while social services are strained by rising numbers of orphans, widows, and dependents.
The Call for Swift Declaration of Road Safety as a Public Health Emergency
Given the severity of road crashes, CUTS International is calling on the government to declare Road Safety a Public Health Emergency. The West African Regional Director insists that President Mahama and Parliament, as part of the reset agenda, must recognise road traffic crashes as a national emergency, equivalent to pandemics and natural disasters.
This will allow for better resource allocation, institutional coordination, and heightened public awareness. He further announced CUTS International’s support for this cause, which seeks to save lives and also save billions drained from the economy by road crashes.
“If we do not act now, we are complicit in the next tragedy. stands ready to support the government through research, advocacy, and community engagement. But we need political will, coordination, and urgency,” he indicated.
For him, Ghana’s vision of building a 24-hour economy would be undermined if workers, goods, and services cannot move safely and confidently at any hour of the day.
Actionable Recommendations
To curb Ghana’s deadly road crashes, CUTS further recommends amending the Road Traffic Regulations to better govern commercial motorcycles and tricycles, lowering the legal blood alcohol limit, enforcing helmet and seatbelt laws, and expanding DVLA training in underserved areas.
Adomako Kusi Appiah also calls for stronger enforcement by the MTTD in high-risk regions, deploying smart traffic systems, revamping public education campaigns using local languages, and enforcing speed limiter laws are key.
Other measures include strengthening NRSA’s pre-departure vehicle checks, creating road safety units in every district, regulating billboard placements, improving coordination among road agencies, and allocating 5% of the Road Fund to NRSA for effective safety interventions.
