Road Accident and its Socio Economic Effects on Ghanaians

INTRODUCTION

Accident is an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury (Oxford Dictionary). Road accidents in Ghana has been identified as one of the major causes of deaths in the country. Many researchers have come out with the causes, effects and recommendations to road accidents, which include drunk driving, machine failure and over speeding just to mention a few. Yet every year there seems to be an un-ending situation with regard to road accidents in Ghana. According to the Statistics of Road Accident in 2014 by National Road Safety Commission reported on GhanaWeb General News on Wednesday, 14 January 2015, in 2014 alone 2,571 people were knocked down by vehicles that caused 13,133 road accident in which 11,328 were injured and 1,856 died. The accident involved 20, 442 vehicles. The report also revealed that, averagely 7 people are knocked down daily on the country’s road with approximately 5 deaths daily. The most dangerous part of it all is that most of the people who are killed by road accidents are those in the age group that constitute the work force of this nation. It is in this regard that more attention needs to be placed on the research into road accident and its impact on human lives and properties in Ghana.