Utilizing Evidence to Address the Speed Problem in Ghana

In early March, the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) launched two back-to-back 2023 Status Summary Reports in the Ghanaian cities of Kumasi and Accra in collaboration with local collaborators and Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) partners.  

Underpinned by the BIGRS, the comprehensive reports analyze speed as a risk factor in both cities and breakdown speed patterns among motorcycles, given the growth in this mode of transportation globally and its significant impact on the region. In addition, the reports present contextually relevant recommendations aligned with the global guidelines for decision-makers and actors to support data-driven planning and the implementation of evidence-based interventions. 

Both gatherings convened local road safety actors and BIGRS representatives to deliberate on the report's findings and explore potential next steps. 

Kumasi 

On March 5, 2024, JH-IIRU joined Vital Strategies, Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Building and Road Research Institute (CSIR-BRRI), the Kumasi Metropolitan Authority and the World Resources Institute (WRI) at the Lancaster Hotel for the joint launch event of the report and the Speed Managment Plan for Kumasi. Mayor Hon. Sam Pyne presented the city's Speed Management Plan, which mapped out concrete actions to fortify Kumasi’s road safety efforts. 

Kumasi’s report presented data captured from November 2020 to September 2023 and, among its various findings, outlined that speeding was high among all the observed vehicles (35%) and that speeding was particularly higher during the weekends (40%). Furthermore, it was reported that more than 39% of motorcycles were seen to be going over the posted speed limit and that speeding was more prevalent among commercial motorcycles than among privately-owned motorcycles. 

The links below provide access to media coverage that offers additional insights into the event: 

• Leaky News’ article on the launch. 

• Modern Ghana’s article on the launch. 

• Watch UTV Ghana’s feature on the launch:

Accra 

The Status Summary Report 2023 for Accra was launched on March 7, 2024, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel with the support of Vital Strategies, CSIR-BRRI, and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.  

Findings from data captured from November 2020 to October 2023 outlined that speeding was prevalent among all observed vehicles (47%) and that motorcycles (54%) and light vehicles (47%) were often found to be speeding compared to heavy vehicles (25%). Given the focus on motorcycle speed within the report, the data indicated that 54% of all motorcycles were exceeding the posted speed limit and that the average speed among motorcycles was high (59 km/h). 

• Watch CSIR-BRRI's livestream of the launch here. 

With the backing of BIGRS, partners and regional collaborators, JH-IIRU has developed Status Summary Reports for multiple cities spanning Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These documents are crafted to enlighten and empower road safety stakeholders, fostering change and transformation. To read the reports for Kumasi and Accra, click here.