The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has urged the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to arrest and prosecute pedestrians who fail to use designated footbridges, as part of efforts to reduce road crashes and fatalities.
Director‑General Abraham Amaliba said strict enforcement of road traffic regulations was necessary to ensure pedestrian safety, particularly at locations where footbridges had been provided. “The footbridges are not there for decorative purposes; they are there for pedestrians to utilise them and be safe. If there is a footbridge and you decide not to use it and cross the road dangerously,” he said.
He added, “Where there are no footbridges, there will be no justification to arrest anyone, but where there are footbridges, and you refuse to use them, you must be prosecuted. I call on the police MTTD to start arresting and prosecuting people who refuse to use footbridges.”
The call came on October 28 at Madina Zongo in the La Nkwantanang‑Madina Municipal Assembly during the launch of the Safe Crossing, Safe Lives pedestrian safety campaign, an initiative of the Greater Accra Regional NRSA. The campaign targets high‑risk locations such as Adentan, Madina, Lapaz and Weija.
Mr Amaliba urged the police to work with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce footbridge use and clear traders from pedestrian walkways to prevent knockdowns. He stressed that road safety was a shared responsibility and that the NRSA was working with the police and other stakeholders to address road crashes.
Pedestrian knockdowns account for 33 per cent of deaths from reported road crashes, according to NRSA data. Between 1991 and 2025, 63,599 people died in road crashes across Ghana, with about 20,988 of those deaths resulting from pedestrian knockdowns.
The Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180), require pedestrians to use footbridges or underpasses where these have been provided. Regulation 154(3) states that a pedestrian who fails to use a footbridge or underpass where one is provided commits an offence, and Regulation 154(10) allows a fine of up to five penalty units, imprisonment for up to seven days, or both.
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician Dr Daniel Asare of the National Ambulance Service called for greater collaboration among stakeholders to prevent pedestrian knockdowns. He noted that road crashes not only result in loss of life but also strain the emergency response system and have economic implications. “One severe pedestrian crash can take one ambulance for several hours from the scene to the hospital. During that period, a pregnant woman in critical need of healthcare, a person with stroke, or a child with severe asthma has to wait with their life on the line for the next available ambulance,” he explained.
Dr Asare urged pedestrians to use footbridges, stressing that preventing crashes would help preserve emergency resources for other people in need. “What members of the public need to know is that footbridge use is better and safer than an ambulance; prevention is better than cure. When you cross safely, you are not only saving your life; you are saving the emergency response system for other people who need it to survive,” he said.
