Ing. Prof.

Mohammed Salifu, (PhD), FGhIE

Department of Civil Engineering,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
Kumasi

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
 COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this short course, participants will:

1. Appreciate the scale of the road safety problem in Ghana and

how it compares internationally
2. Acquire both basic and advanced understanding of road accident
causation, accident data collection and analysis, techniques of
safety evaluation and design of interventions,
3. Appreciate the connection between traffic management and
safety
4. Get exposed to modern techniques of traffic management

This particular presentation will focus on the scale and

nature of the road traffic management and safety
problem in Ghana

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
OUTLINE OF
PRESENTATION
 INTRODUCTION
 FATALITY TRENDS 1991-2009
 CHARACTERISTICS OF FATAL ACCIDENTS
(CRASHES) AND FATALITIES 2005/2009
 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
 TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS;
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
 CONCLUSION
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
INTRODUCTION
 Traffic Control and Management
“Is concerned with the provision of efficient mobility
of people and goods while preserving safety and
minimizing all harmful impacts on the
environment”
Includes a variety of engineering skills, including
design, construction, operations, maintenance,
and optimization of transportation systems.
Practically, the focus is more on systems operations
than on construction and maintenance
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Introduction
 Thus, the main purpose of traffic management
is to maximize the use of existing road space
with particular reference to capacity and safety.

To understand the nature of the traffic

management and safety challenge in Ghana
one needs to recognize the following:
Largely uni-modal transport system: 95-98% of
goods and people are moved by road
More than 60% of traffic in 4 major cities

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Introduction
 Vehicle population has increased 8-fold over the last
20 years (Average growth rate of 10-15% per annum)
 National population has doubled in the last 20 years
 Vehicle ownership (motorization per capita) remains
low (41 per 1000 population), Much higher in Accra
and Kumasi

The result of all these developments is congestion in

the major cities, vehicle-pedestrian conflicts and
increasing fatalities overall on urban and non-
urban road networks
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ROAD SAFETY AND TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
 Responsibility for Traffic and Safety
Management is mainly shared by four (4)
ministries:
Local Government & Rural Development
○ Assemblies
Ministry of Roads and Highways
○ Road Agencies
Ministry of Transport
○ NRSC and DVLA
Ministry of Interior
○ Police service

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ROAD SAFETY AND TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
 National Road Safety Commission
Formed by Act of Parliament (ACT 567) of 1999.
Prior to that existed the Road Safety Committee
dating back to 1974.
Functions of NRSC
 To undertake nation-wide planning and development of road safety
programmes and activities
 To co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate road safety activities,
programmes and strategies
 To develop and maintain a comprehensive database on road traffic
accident and publish reports related to road safety
 To set standards for road safety equipment in collaboration with other
stakeholders Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ROAD SAFETY AND TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES
Corporate Vision of NRSC
 A reputable organization with a highly motivated staff
committed to reducing the fatality rate per 10,000
vehicles to a single digit.
Strategic Objective
“To reduce Road Traffic Crash (RTC) fatalities on a
year-on-year basis and achieve a total of less than
1,000 and a single digit fatality rate by the year 2015”
“The objective translates to a reduction in RTC fatalities
per 10,000 vehicles from 22.06 in 2006 to a single
digit by 2015”

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ROAD SAFETY AND TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES
 These (corporate vision & strategic objective)
have been the main drivers of two (2) National
Road Safety Strategies (NRSS 1 2000-2005;
NRSS 2 2005-2010) over the years. The
following have been the focal areas:
Reduction of pedestrian fatalities
Reduction of fatalities among inter/intra city bus
occupants
Stabilizing the emerging fatalities of motor cyclists.
Reduction of child fatalities

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
THE ROAD SAFETY
STATITISTICS
SOURCE: NRSCAll(2010); *1991-2009 Seriously Slightly
Year Fatalities
Casualties Injured Injured
1999 11439 1237 4221 5981
2000 13747 1437 5180 7130
2001 14838 1660 5210 7968
2002 15077 1665 5741 7671
2003 16185 1716 4960 8509
2004 18445 2186 6222 10037
2005 15813(1.15) 1779(1.24) 5138 8896
2006 16348 1856 5882 8610
2007 16416 2043 6287 8086
2008 16455 1938 5809 8722
2009 18496 2237 6242 10017
(1.26;1.56)
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Overall Trends (1991-2009) Figure 1: General Trend in Accidents, Fatalities, Population and Registered
Vehicles (1991-2009)

900.0

All Accidents
All Casualties
Fatalities
800.0 Estimated Population
Registered Vehicles

700.0

600.0
1 9 9 1 In d e x = 1 0 0 %

500.0

400.0

300.0

200.0

100.0

0.0
Short course in road safety and traffic
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
Year
11, 2011
 Fatality Indices (1991-2009) Figure 3: Trends in Accident Fatality Indices

80.00
Fatalities per 10,000 Vehicles

Fatalities per 100,000 Population

Fatalities per 100 Casualties

70.00 Fatalities per 100 Accidents

60.00

50.00
F a t a lit y R a t e

40.00

30.00

20.00

10.00

0.00
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
 Comparison of Indices with other
African Countries Ghana's Fatality Rate (death per 10,000 vehicles in 2005) compared to other African Countries

120.00

111.60
100.00 105.98

80.00
Fatalities

60.00

52.87
40.00
42.61
26.84
35.79
29.20
26.68
20.00 23.26 23.93
21.64 20.12 21.35
16.27

Country

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Fatality Trends(2000-2009)
Source: NRSC, 2010

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
 Fatalities by Road user class
Road User Class
Bus/Mini
Year Ped Car HGV Bus M/cycle Pick-up Cycle Other Total
1991 423 85 106 177 16 45 28 17 897
1992 388 126 83 215 18 23 43 12 908
1993 404 93 118 186 11 29 35 18 894
1994 367 81 91 180 18 41 22 17 817
1995 488 95 87 232 21 34 40 19 1016
1996 461 115 130 197 15 47 44 32 1041
1997 491 107 111 181 28 48 30 10 1006
1998 630 137 150 328 29 55 63 24 1416
1999 528 142 111 281 35 50 60 10 1217
2000 662 207 189 314 42 72 62 13 1561
2001 757 182 146 399 44 41 59 31 1659
2002 681 202 171 421 48 57 69 16 1665
2003 724 218 228 341 53 47 91 16 1718
2004 869 246 235 556 100 53 100 14 2173
2005 733 242 200 317 109 76 92 13 1782
2006 770 206 270 382 94 34 84 16 1856
2007 880 212 213 414 182 36 85 16 2038
2008 855 274 184 282 170 45 111 13 1934
2009 938 283 193 466 192 53 92 20 2237
Total 12049 3253 3016 5869 1225 886 1210 327 27835
% 43.3 11.7 10.8 Short course
21.1in road safety and
4.4traffic 3.2 4.3 1.2 100.0
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Fatalities: Urban/Rural (1991-2009)

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS-
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS-
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
IMPLICATIONS
Typical Distribution of Pedestrian
Fatalities by Pedestrian Action

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS-
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
IMPLICATIONS
Time Distribution of Fatalities (1998, 2005, 2006)

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
 ONLY A THIRD OF ALL FATALITIES
ARE RECORDED IN URBAN AREAS
Rapid traffic growth on relatively fixed
network=> Higher concentration/conflicts=>
Reduced speed=> Increased probability of
collisions => Mostly Damage-only accidents.

Thus, MORE THAN 80% OF ALL ACCIDENTS

IN ACCRA (2000-2009) WERE EITHER
PROPERTY DAMAGE OR MINOR INJURY

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
•MOST
ACCIDENTS
RECORDED
ON HIGHLY
TRAFFICKED
CORRIDORS
•PED
ACCIDENTS
MOSTLY
RECORDED
ON PARALLEL
SERVICE
COLLECTOR
ROADS WITH
RAT-RUNNING
Short course in road safety and traffic
VEHICLES
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
 ROAD CORRIDOR ANALYSIS: DUAL vs Single
carriageway (2004-2008)
 ACCRA-TEMA MOTORWAY (Dual, 2-lane) AADT 45,000, Much
better LOS
○ Accident Rate per million vehicle-km = 0.49
○ Fatality Index = 140 deaths/1000 casualties

 Motorway Extension (Single, 2-lane), AADT 35,000; Mostly

congested and mixed
○ Accident Rate = 2.78 per million veh-km
○ Fatality Index = 50 deaths/ 1000 casualties

 TIME PROFILE OF ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS:

Concentration during evening Peak Period (6-8pm)
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
POOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
AND/OR ROAD USE LEAD TO
CONGESTION AND SAFETY
PROBLEMS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
Disabled vehicles

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS- TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
CONCLUSION
 Rapid growth in vehicle population, majority
concentrated in a few big cities, coupled with human
population growth, urban sprawl, has resulted in
congestion and safety problems
 Road safety statistics show worsening situation,
notwithstanding efforts by NRSC and other
stakeholders
 Chasing a single digit fatality rate per 1000 registered
vehicles is NOT a useful strategy
 Effective traffic management can yield good results in
safety and efficiency of flow
Short course in road safety and traffic
management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011
CONCLUSIONS
 From a safety point of view congestion is a normal
sword with one cutting edge:
 On the blunt side it can be said that extreme congestion is good for
safety on a given corridor. Decongestion measures therefore would not
necessarily improve safety.
 On the sharper side:
○ Increasing concentration of traffic increases the incidence of collisions
○ Rat-running engendered by jammed major roads increases risk of
accidents on relatively minor alternative or connecting roads
(collectors, access)
 Poor traffic management leads to congestion and
safety problems
 Traffic accidents/incidents/create congestion

Short course in road safety and traffic

management, Engineers Centre, Accra, March 7-
11, 2011