Statistics at the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) have revealed higher cases or road crashes and fatalities in election years since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1992.
A trend analysis of the figures over the past 28 years has shown that all election years recorded higher road crashes and fatalities than the preceding years.
Additionally, the statistics show that with the exception of 2016, every election year has recorded higher road crashes and fatalities than the preceding election year.
As of September this year, road accident figures showed that 10,535 crashes had occurred, with 10,933 injuries and 1,828 deaths.
Those statistics indicate a steady increase in the road accident situation, compared with the same period of 2019 which recorded 10,294 crashes, 10,721 injuries and 1,733 deaths.
Also, the 2020 figures show that road crashes had increased over 2016 election year figures, which indicate that 8,651 crashes occurred.
Fourth Republic figures
A holistic look at the statistics, beginning from 1992, show that 6,992 crashes were recorded in 1992, resulting in 10,030 casualties and 914 deaths.
The figures shot up to 8,488 crashes, 10,952 casualties and 1,049 fatalities in 1996, in the next election year.
The figures also showed an increase over the 1995 situation, where 8,313 crashes were recorded, with 1,132 casualties and 1,026 deaths.
The increasing trend continued in 2000, with that election year recording 11,087 crashes, 13,747 casualties and 1,437 deaths.
That was after the country had recorded 8,763 crashes, 11,439 casualties and 1,237 fatalities in 1999.
In 2004, Ghana had 12,175 road crashes, 18,445 casualties and 2,188 fatalities, an increase over 2003 road accident statistics of 10,542 crashes, 16,185 casualties and 1,716 deaths.
Although in 2008 the 11,214 road crashes recorded were lower than the 12,038 recorded in 2007, the casualties remained higher (16,455 for 2008 and 16,416 for 2007).
However, the fatalities for 2008 were 1,938, lower than the 2,043 recorded in 2007.
The road crashes and fatalities went up to 12,083 and 2,240 respectively, in 2012, as against the 10,887 crashes and 2,199 fatalities that occurred in 2011.
There was an improvement in the figures for the 2016 election year as the road crashes and fatalities reduced to 8,651 and 2,084 respectively, compared with the 9,796 crashes and 1,802 deaths in 2015.
Although 2020 (another election year) is yet to end, the increase in the road accident situation over 2019 figures remains a source of worry.
Source: graphic.com.gh
