ANALYSIS OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS TREND IN GHANA: CAUSING FACTORS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Road traffic accidents (RTA) in developing countries such as Ghana have been identified as one of the major causes of death. It has been classified as the second major cause of death apart from malaria and hence urgent attention is needed to curb this menace. This study was carried out to analyze RTA trends, identify causing factors and propose preventive measures. In the study, primary data was obtained from a sur vey conducted by randomly administering structured questionnaires to 150 drivers and pedestrians. While secondary data was gathered from RTA records for the past 10 years (2005 - 2014) obtained from the National Road Safety Commission of Ghana. The key findi ngs from the study show that there is an increase in RTA cases for the past 10 years with population growth through the correlation and regression analyses. The regression model indicates clear positive faster increase in RTA trend with population growth i n Ghana. In addition, the regional distribution also shows significant differences in RTA cases. The results from the survey indicated that over speeding, over loading and disregard to road signs or regulations are the first - three main RTA causing factors in Ghana with emphasis on safety education as the main preventive measure .