A recent report from the National Road Traffic Crashes and Casualties has revealed a concerning surge in road crash fatalities, with February 2024 witnessing a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The report documented 195 deaths in February 2024, up from 150 fatalities recorded in February 2023.

Breaking down the fatalities by gender, the report indicated that 155 males (79%) and 40 females (21%) lost their lives in road crashes in February 2024. This data reflects a consistent trend of higher fatality rates among males than females.

Furthermore, the report highlighted that 13% of the fatalities in February 2024 were individuals below 18 years of age, while 87% were adults above 18 years old. The data revealed a stark ratio of 8:1, indicating that for every eight adults killed in road crashes, one child below 18 years also lost their life.

The report attributed this imbalance to the higher risk of exposure to traffic incidents among adults compared to children. In total, 1,118 crashes were reported during the period, involving 1,919 vehicles and 164 pedestrian knockdowns.

Of these crashes, 51% were classified as minor, 35% as serious, and 14% as fatal. Minor crashes resulted in minor injuries or no injuries at all, serious crashes involved injuries requiring at least 24 hours of hospitalization, and fatal crashes led to the death of at least one person within 30 days of the incident.

In terms of vehicle involvement, private vehicles constituted the largest proportion at 44.5%, followed by commercial vehicles at 32.2% and motorcycles at 23.4%. While private vehicle crashes decreased by 5% compared to February 2023, commercial vehicle and motorcycle crashes increased by 11% and 8.2%, respectively.

Geographically, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of crashes with 411 incidents, followed by the Ashanti and Eastern regions contributing 262 and 141 crashes, respectively.