By: Rachel Kakraba
Ghana ended 2025 in the grip of a deepening road safety crisis, as new data from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) reveals that motorcycle involvement in road crashes surged by a “whopping” 19.4 per cent over the last year. This spike has contributed to a devastating national toll as by the end of December 2025, 2,949 people were killed on Ghana’s roads. This represents an 18.2 per cent increase from the 2,494 deaths recorded in 2024.
For years, road safety advocates have identified a “critical policy gap” as the silent driver of this mortality and this being the lack of defined quality standards for motorcycle helmets. According to Enock Jengre, a lawyer and Programmes Officer of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) while the law on road safety required helmets, it failed to specify what kind was safe, allowing the market to be flooded with substandard “plastic caps” and counterfeit products that offer no protection upon impact.
A Deadly Trend and a Rigorous Response
The 2025 statistics paint a harrowing picture of vulnerability. While overall cases reported rose by 9.3 per cent, the disproportionate jump in motorcycle involvement, reaching 6,548 vehicles compared to 5,484 in 2024, highlights the escalating risk for those on two and three wheels. In December 2025 alone, 660 motorcycles were involved in crashes, with two-wheelers making up 74 per cent of those incidents.
In adopting solutions journalism approach, experts are now pointing to the finalized Ghana Helmet Standard as the primary tool to reverse this trend. If properly implemented, a standardized helmet is proven to reduce the risk of death by 40 per cent and the risk of serious injury by 70 per cent, as data have it.
Mr. Jengre, Esq. of the LRC warns that the standard’s existence is only the beginning. “Education without enforcement becomes entertainment,” he asserted, echoing his long-standing demand for institutional accountability. “People will only take road safety seriously when they face real consequences for violations”.
The Path to Compliance: Awareness and Infrastructure
The transition to a safer regime requires more than just a document; it requires a complete overhaul of the helmet value chain.
Stakeholder Awareness: There is an urgent need for massive sensitization on the soon to be made public motorcycle crash helmet for Ghana so that “Okada” and private riders understand that a non-compliant helmet is a death trap.
Importer Accountability: Stakeholders must engage helmet importers to ensure that every new unit entering the country conforms to the Ghana standards.
Local Industry: Beyond imports, advocates are calling for the establishment of machinery and infrastructure within Ghana to manufacture helmets that meet the new standard, ensuring they are both affordable and accessible to the average rider.
Testing Rigor: The standard cannot be enforced without a functioning laboratory for a testing regime to verify that both imported and locally made products meet energy absorption criteria.
Recommendations for a Safer Ghana
To minimize crashes, injuries, and deaths in 2026, Mr. Jengre, Esq. proffers the following recommendations based on the 2025 data:
For State Institutions (NRSA, Police MTTD, Ministry of Transport):
Data-Led Policing: The Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) must intensify enforcement especially during high-risk periods, such as weekends (which account for 49–51% of fatalities) and the hours between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Infrastructure Investment: Support the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies in establishing testing labs and manufacturing machinery to ensure quality gear is not a luxury.
For Private Sector Players (Importers and Dealers):
Clean Supply Chains: They should proactively align with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to ensure all imported helmets bear the mark of conformity with Ghana`s Road Vehicles, Protective Helmets and Their Visors for Drivers or Riders and Passengers of Category L Vehicles.
Local Investment: There is the need to explore the manufacturing of helmets tailored to Ghana’s context, including features like ventilation for hot weather and white colors for nighttime visibility.
For Civil Society Organizations (CSOs):
Thematic Advocacy: There is the need to shift from reporting “accidents” to “crashes,” and move from statistics to solutions journalism that holds the government accountable for the 24-hour economy’s safety implications.
For Helmet Users:
Personal Responsibility: Riders and passengers must refuse substandard helmets and take personal responsibility for their safety by properly fastening compliant gear every time they ride.
As Ghana continues to lose at least eight lives daily to road crashes, the successful rollout of the Ghana standard represents the difference between life and death for thousands of citizens.
