Okada business operators in Accra have revealed some pillion riders, despite the risks they are exposed to in accidents, reject the use of crash helmets.

According to them, there have been instances they had to turn down some passengers who refuse to use the helmets.

Crash helmets are used by motor riders to serve as protection to the head against injuries in accidents cases.

For this reason, riders are mandated to put on their crash helmets before using the road.

"Sometimes, I have to reject some of them because the Police will arrest us and even cases of accidents the passenger can be injured," a rider told JoyNews in an interview.

Another rider said “some of the passengers say because of the Covid-19, they cannot use helmets used by other customers so I have to, sometimes, pick them like that."

Road crashes

Road traffic accidents for the first half of 2022 have seen a four percent decline as compared to the same period in 2021.

The success is attributed to intensified sensitisation and media advocacy campaigns.

The Multimedia Group, especially JoyNews, has been spearheading safety campaigns in its bid to reduce the carnages on our roads.

Data from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) show that from January to May 2022, a number of 6,472 cases of road traffic accidents were reported while 6,789 of these were recorded within the same period in 2021.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/road-crashes-reduced-by-4-for-the-first-quarter-of-this-year-nrsa/

According to the NRSA, the country has witnessed a decline of 4.67 percent in road traffic accidents in 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021.

The figures also indicate that the number of persons killed in road traffic accidents from January to May this year has reduced by 8.8 percent as compared to last year.

A total of 1,140 persons were killed in road traffic accidents from January to May this year while 1,250 persons were killed within the same period last year.

The number of injured persons within the period under review also decreased by 4.98 percent as the Authority recorded 6,620 injured cases this year compared to 6,967 injured cases in 2021.