The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is unhappy with the rampant spate of accidents on the country’s roads.

The Association finds it worrying that 11,858 crashes occurred in the first nine months of this year, 2,126 casualties were recorded.

A communique issued at the end of GMA’s 63rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) noted that, on average, six lives are lost per day in Ghana to road traffic crashes.

The conference, held in Sunyani from November 2 to 7, was on the theme “The Menace of our time: Road Traffic Accidents and Galamsey.’

The Association agreed that “Road safety in the country is bedevilled by pre-crash challenges such the general indiscipline of road users, poor road design and construction, exponential increase in motorcycle-related crashes and casualties, weak enforcement of road traffic regulations and the absence of a legislative instrument (L I.) for the NRSA Act, 2019 (Act 993).”

“The post-crash challenges accounting for lives on the roads in Ghana include inadequate trauma care centres in the country and insufficient funding for health facilities to cater for crash victims as well as non-reimbursing of funds spent on crash victims by health facilities.”

On the back of this, the GMA recommended the “dualization of major highways in Ghana and intermodal transportation, the conduct of a road safety audit with treatment of hazardous sections, Provision of rest stops every 80-100km along major highways to manage fatigue. Automation of traffic enforcement, Continuous driver training and training of trainers for motorcycle/tricycle riders.”

These, the Association believes, will help curb the current trend of fatalities on the road.

GMA also urged “all stakeholders in the road safety sector work hard to avert more crashes during the Christmas and New Year festivities.”