Mr. Mark Tonyemevor of the World Resources Institute in Kumasi, has stated that about 99% of road crashes are not accidents and preventable. He says road crashes are not accidents, because they are predictable and preventable when risk factors are identified and addressed.
According to him, something can be done to prevent the crashes, adding that risk factors are elements that increase the likelihood of a road crash occurring, or worsen the outcomes of a crash when it happens.
Mr. Tonyemevor made this disclosure at a Media Training Workshop jointly organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly on a brief summary report on road traffic deaths.
The objective of the training workshop is to understand what makes road safety a public health issue, following a rise in fatalities through road crashes, as reported by the National Road Safety Authority.
Mr. Tonyemevor said the situation requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including journalists, to create road safety responsiveness through media and communication programmes that will aid in the reduction of road crash fatalities.
The workshop is aimed at training media personnel with an outstanding track-record in covering local issues, especially those related to infrastructure, health and municipal government in order to reduce crash fatalities.
Participants also explored new and exciting ways to cover one of the most neglected but deadly health challenges, while expanding their skills and combining diverse ideas for high-impact road safety stories that go beyond the usual road crashes coverage.
Mr. Tonyemevor indicated that the main risk factors of road crashes are speeding, as a major risk factor, as identified by World Health Organisation (WHO), followed by drink driving and use of helmets, stressing that seat belt and helmet use reduce the chance of death by 40% and serious injury by 70%.
He noted that Driving at low speed enables a driver to stop within a shorter distance and that in urban centers speed should be very low. He reiterated that the safe system approach underpins all aspects of an effective road safety management system.
He disclosed that the stopping distance of a vehicle is a combination of the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time and the distance it takes for a vehicle to stop after the brakes are applied.
Mr. Kingsley Wireko, Road Injury Surveillance Coordinator, Kumasi, revealed that pedestrians have accounted for the highest proportion of death since 2018.
According to him, in 2023, Pedestrians comprised 84 deaths which is 61% and that death among cyclists have remained low since 2018.
He said since 2020 males have accounted for more than 60% of pedestrians fatalities, as the Pedestrians fatalities are notably high among children aged 0-9 and 30-49 adults.
He disclosed that most pedestrians fatalities occurred in crashes between 8 pm and 10pm while cars and Pickups accounted for 47% of pedestrians fatalities and 16% of pedestrians death from collision.
