Nearly 1.24 million people are killed annually in road traffic accidents, 90 per cent of which occur in developing countries. This is according to the United Nations statistics unit.

Here in Ghana, figures from the National Road Safety Commission indicate that from January to June 2019, 6,844 crashes involving 11, 167 vehicles were reported nationwide.

Casualties stood at 7,043 out of which 1,252 died.

In Ashanti Region however, 13 percent of all road crashes involved tricycles and motorcycles.

Ashanti regional MTTD commander, Superintendent Emmanuel Aduboahene who explained the  dangers tricycles pose on our roads to human life, said “last year that’s 2018, motor and tricycles contributed 30 percent of all road accidents in the region, against 2019, the figures is now 55 percent, the phenomenon is killing people more than malaria and other killer diseases.”

He wants pragmatic measures to be put in place to curb the increasing trend of motor and tricycle accidents in Ashanti region and Ghana at large.

Motor and tricycle related injuries have become a major public health concern after reports from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) suggested that 8 out of every 10 emergency cases seen are motor or tricycle related.

Aboabo, Asawase, Asokore Mampong and other Zongo communities in Kumasi are hubs for tricycles in terms of operation and patronage.

Thirty-one year old Alhassan Umar and his 29-year-old brother, Mustahau Umar, live with their 70 year old mother.

The two siblings drive tricycles in Kumasi.

Income from the business takes care of the family. But none of them can ride again due to injuries they sustained in separate accidents.

Alhassan Umar who now walks with the aid of a crutches, recounts how the accident happened.

“It occurred on the Asokore Mampong-Aboabo Post Office stretch. We were five on the tricycle. Suddenly, we saw a vehicle approaching at top speed. It veered off its lane into ours. All I saw was the car colliding head-on with my tricycle.”

“I was later told I fell unconscious, with a deep cut in my knee and pain in my waist and arms. The other passengers suffered similar fate.

“I spent a few days at the Manhyia Hospital and later got transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where I underwent multiple surgeries.

For over four months, I was on admission. But by the Grace of Allah and the hardworking doctors and nurses, I am recovering steadily.

Besides the huge medical bills, I was incapacitated for 4 months.

My little brother is also a victim. An unidentified driver hit his ‘Aboboyaa’ from behind and knocked him off the tricycle.”

“He is unable to walk now because doctors say his spinal cord has been affected,” he concluded.

Grace Gyau, is another victim. Her husband and 5-year-old daughter survived a terrible motor accident on the Asawinso-Apramoase highway

She also relives her incident as it happened.

“I was travelling on a motorbike with my husband and daughter from Apramoase to Asawhinso in the Western North region when a car hit us at a police barrier. People thought we had died after the driver sped off. A passerby got a taxi to rush us to Asafo Hospital.”

“My daughter and I were subsequently referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital because our condition was more critical. I was later told I went into a coma for two weeks. My daughter‘s intestines had gushed out as a result of a deep cut in her ribcage in addition to a thigh injury. I spent four months at KATH. My parents have been taking care of us; the driver never showed up.”

Her mother, Christiana Akpaliga, says the accident affected the family.

“After my daughter and two-year-old granddaughter were discharged, my husband and I had no money. A doctor helped by paying upfront. We still haven’t been able to pay the money back. We have spent over 30,000 Ghana cedis on bills. Even today when we came for the review she still had to undergo some scan tests which also comes with its cost. We have used up all our life savings to pay medical bills.

“It’s by God’s grace that she’s alive because three days after her first surgery, she could not respond to anything; we thought she was dead.”

The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Block C2 is a treatment centre for all trauma cases.

Almost 70 per cent of patients in this ward are victims of motorcycle accidents.

Dr Vincent Attivor is Head of Trauma and Orthopedic Directorate of the hospital. He touches on some cases recorded daily.

“Most of the accident victims who are rushed here suffer from a deep cut on the face and head, some even die at the spot while others die on their way to the hospital, and some also undergo serious surgeries that demand amputation.

The tricycle accidents are more severe than the other vehicular accidents, these calls for a second look at regulating their activities to ensure the riders undergo training to reduce the number of carnage on our roads.”

Records from the Police and hospitals show that 8 out of 10 motorcycle accidents victims are commercial riders.

Sergeant A.A. Akpong is the Ashanti regional accident clerk. According to him, “with regards to motorbike accidents in 2017, we recorded 103 accidents, and in the first quarter of 2018 the figures shot up to 222 motorbike accident cases which mean the first 4 months of 2018 recorded high motorbike accidents.”

Sergeant Akpon advocates for an intensive education on safety and strict enforcement of the road safety regulations.

Experts say when motorcycle crashes happen; the injuries usually affect the mouth, jaw and facial regions.

Compared to drivers of other motorized vehicles, cycle riders are more prone to injury and death by between 8 and 34 times.

Dr Alexander Oti Acheampong is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Komfo Anokye Hospital.

“Most of the time the’ aboboya’ riders and passengers are not protected with a helmet when they are riding so when accidents happen they are subjected to head injuries including fractures involving the forehead, mid-face and  lower jaw.”

“Sometimes we receive fractures involving the skull too. We receive at least 10 maxillofacial injury cases and I am talking about injuries involving the head and the neck I know other departments receive other cases.”

Between 2017 and 2018, 10 experts from the KNUST, the University of Ghana Medical Schools as well as Komfo Anokye Hospital came out with their findings on road accidents and its related causes.

According to the report, out of 135 road traffic-related injuries seen at the Komfo Anokye Hospital in one year, 66 involved motorcycles.

Cargo tricycles or ‘aboboyaa’ accounted for 72.8 per cent of injuries,  24. 2 per cent by Okada and 3.0 per cent by ‘pragya’. 

Riders constituted 69.7 per cent of victims, 18.2 per cent were pedestrians and 12.1 per cent, passengers.  

The report, issued in Scientific Research Publishing, recommends either enforcement of laws banning commercialization of motorcycles or amendment of the laws for safe usage.  

Backing this recommendation, Former Ashanti Regional Road Safety Manager, Samuel Asiama, said enforcement agencies must be resourced to work effectively.

“The method of enforcing is not at best. The enforcement agencies are not empowered to enforce traffic regulations for example if a police officer is at post at a traffic light and a motor rider jumps the red light and speed off if the police officer doesn’t have a motorbike to chase the traffic offender then we have a problem, so I will say that our enforcement agencies do not have the logistics (cameras) to even prove in court that a motor rider jumped the traffic light. So if the guy drives through the traffic and jump the red light and the police officer have no motorbike or vehicle to chase and make an arrest, it becomes difficult for the law enforcers to effectively function to ensure road safety regulations are adhered to.”

Available data from the Kumasi office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority shows 4,174 motorcycles and tricycles were registered in 2016 alone.

From January to September 2017, the figure was 18,143.

George Afful is the Ashanti Regional Manager at DVLA.

“In 2019 we registered 9220 tricycles and motorbikes as against 2018 of 9045 you see that there is a marginal increment in the registration of motorcycles and tricycles.” He said

As scary as this accident stories are,  in Kumasi’s central business district of Adum, the tricycle also known as ‘Aboboyaa’ is the most preferred haulage option for many traders.

“We the traders are fond of the tricycles (aboboyaa) for carting our goods because it is very cheap and they easily manoeuvre through the traffic so for us, the tricycles are far better than the head potters and other vehicular trucks,” one trader said.

As local assemblies struggle to find a way to streamline and regulate the use of tricycles, Gloria Timah Gambrah who is Chief Executive of Oforikrom Municipal Assembly says tricycles are also being used by the various waste collectors.

 “We are trying to identify all the tricycles within my jurisdiction so that we can separate the tricycles for garbage collection and those for carting foodstuffs to the market, we believe it is a good move and we entreat other assemblies to follow suit.”

Even in rural areas, the balance between economic benefits and concerns about safety are about the same.

In addition to farming and other economic activities, ‘aboboyaa’ is also the community ‘ambulance’, providing a lifeline for the sick, and, women in labour.

Yaw Manu is the Medical Superintendent of the only health centre at Anwiam, near Drobonso, in Sekyere Afram Plains District of the Ashanti Region.

At Manso Atwere3, a farming and mining community in Amansie South District,  motorbike sare a major means of transportation, due to the bad roads.

Samuel Afugu owns 4 motorbikes. He has employed riders to operate within the community.

“Okada has really helped me; I have been in the business for six years. It’s my only source of income. Police have been worrying us, with license inspection. The reality is we are unable to acquire the license because it’s very expensive; it costs 500 Ghana cedis to get one. We want government to reduce it to 150 Ghana cedis, maximum.”

Riders want government to amend the ROAD ACT and regulate the use of motorbikes to sustain their livelihood.

“We the farmers and traders in the hinterland rely on Okada as the only means of transportation. Because of the poor roads, taxis do not ply on our roads so the Okada has been our saviour. We want government to regulate our activities, the okada business has been our only livelihood so he must consider and regularize it so that we can also make some sales and take care of our families.”

Meanwhile, there is a bill sitting in parliament for review on Road Safety Regulation. Joseph Osei Owusu is the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

“None of these tricycles is registered for commercial purposes, so if someone offers you a lift on his tricycle you may sit on it at your own risk.

Under the NDC administration, the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre introduced passenger tricycles as part of poverty alleviation programme.

Christened ‘Mahama Camboo, after former President Mahama, they surfaced without regulation.

 It was later renamed ‘’pragya.’’ Before 2019, tricycle operators never belonged to a union or had designated loading point, but now the story is different.”

Fuseini Adams is station master at Aboabo station. According to him, “every day we load at least 100 tricycles from here and it is helping the youth because it is creating employment for them, even at a point 2 riders use one tricycle so for me I will advise government to regularize the activities of motor and tricycles.”

Umar Alhasan used to belong to this station until the unexpected happened.

Alhaji Saeed has been riding this tricycle for the past two years this has been his only source of income to feed his family.

“I depend on this tricycle to feed my family, I hope one day I will wake up and hear that government has removed the ban on commercializing tricycles because it is illegal. Sometimes the police harass we the riders and it is very frustrating meanwhile this is our only means of livelihood.”

At Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North District of Ashanti Region, tricycles have become a common phenomenon.

Nana Boateng Tuffour is Akobiahene of Tepa.

“Initially we the elders were against the idea of commercializing tricycles. Before our paramount chief ascended this stool, Tepa was a small town so we used to walk from end to the other, but 20 years down the line there has been massive development and rapid growth in terms of population and size of the town.

Taxis are very expensive, they take 5 cedis but the tricycles take only one cedi and drop you right in front of your house.”

Traditional authorities want parliament to expedite action on formulating the relevant laws to manage the use of tricycles in the country.

Back in Kumasi, the newfound means of livelihood, especially, for the youth in Zongo communities, is spreading even to first-class residential areas.

They are competing keenly with taxi drivers for the business. Thomas Larbi is a taxi driver, he says, “I used to make 200 cedis sales every day but now I can’t even make 50 cedis a day. The tricycles get to do the business and we drive around virtually with an empty car, the advents of tricycles have really affected our business.”

In places like Tamale, even bicycles stop at a traffic light intersection.

The story is different in Kumasi where motorbikers disregard such signals.

Ashanti regional Road Safety Regional Manager, Simbaint Owiredu, describes the action as dangerous.

“ Last year the tricycles contribution to accidents in the region was a little above 30 per cent but in 2019 the figures have swollen to 55 per cent so it is very alarming and I think more education is needed to ensure the riders adhere to traffic regulations”

But as the debate continues in Ghana, commercial tricycle transportation has long been a popular means of commuting in most Asian countries. 

In neighbouring states like Burkina Faso, the craze for motorcycle and tricycle dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century.

In Burkina Faso, there are dedicated lanes for motor and tricycles to avoid rampant knockdowns and crashes with other vehicles.

Seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals include one or more targeted to address both rural and urban transport.

The signs are clear indications that the emergence of tricycles on our streets has come to stay.

But until authorities regulate and streamline their use, public safety will remain under threat and people will continue to die from such accidents.

Legalize tricycles or not? The debate will continue as people get maimed or killed every passing day.