CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS AND THE WAY FORWARD
I once heard that Ghanaian germs do not kill, road accidents do. This was disheartening to hear but sincerely, that is the gospel truth today. We live in a country where four people die daily as a result of accidents on our roads and there is no pragmatic steps by authorities to curb this menace. Statistics provided by the National Road Safety Commission shows that on the average of the last decade, over two thousand people die out of about ten thousand road accidents recorded and a critical analysis shows that the number of accidents and deaths keep on increasing year-in, year out. Those people who have died could be you or me because transportation is an inevitable part of our modern life and in Ghana travelling by road forms about ninety percent of our transportation alternatives. It is with this background that I would address the four major causes of road accidents and provide two remedies to this peril.
One of the major causes of road accidents is poor road conditions. The quality of our roads is nothing to write home about. Our roads, after completion, do not stand the test of just one rainy season. Roads which we spend billions on develop pot-holes as big as small lakes after it has been tested by showers of rain. These potholes in the middle of our roads create a hectic time for drivers and are a major cause of accidents. Apart from the poor quality of the materials used in the construction of the roads, the structure of our roads is also a problem. Our roads are not wide enough. Dual carriageway are made single, some roads lack road markings and road signs which inform drivers on what to do. Pedestrian walkways are most at times not part of roads constructed and this causes cars to knock down people. A typical example is the new N1 highway in Accra which is supposed to have seven overhead bridges of walkers to cross but has only two. This has forced most pedestrians to cross the main road and the...