More than 2,000 people die every year in Ghana through road traffic crashes.
Forty-two per cent of the fatalities are pedestrians; and 23 per cent of these pedestrian deaths involved children below 16 years of age, Mr Abraham Zaato, Assistant Planning officer, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the National Road Safety Commission has said.
He was speaking at the just-ended training workshop for media personnel at the Koforidua Training Centre (KTC),
Mr Zaato said 60 per cent of the accidents were caused by over speeding.
The about 50 participants were drawn from selected media houses in Accra and Koforidua, to equip media personnel with the necessary tools to enhance their reportage on the road sector.
He said ages between 18 and 55 accounts for 60 per cent of the fatalities and over 70 per cent of those who die were males and urged women to advise their husbands to be extra careful on the road.
He said globally, over 1.2 million people die each year, while between 20 and 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries as a result of road accidents annually.
Mr Zaato said currently, the Ashanti region tops in the fatalities list with 20.8 per cent, followed by the Eastern Region, 15.8 per cent; Greater Accra region was third with 15.6 per cent; Central region, 10.3 per cent, with the Upper East and Upper West region being 2.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
In 2013, the Commission recorded 14,390 road crashes involving 22,208 vehicles, killing 2,095 people and injuring 12,655 people, recording a slight decrease compared with 2012.
Mr Zaato said the first quarter of 2014 recorded 3,621accident cases, involving 5,788 vehicles, killing 147 people and injuring 3,432 people, while the same period in 2013 recorded 3,337 cases involving 5, 226 vehicles, killing 540 people and injuring 3,130.
He said it was imperative that the NRSC form partnership with the media and other stakeholders to intensify road safety education to ensure the security of road users.
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