NRSA urges police to arrest pedestrians who fail to use footbridges

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.

The Director-General of the NRSA, 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.

“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,” Mr Amaliba added.

He made the call 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.

The campaign, an initiative of the Greater Accra Regional NRSA, seeks to promote safe pedestrian behaviour and encourage the proper use of footbridges and other designated crossing facilities to reduce pedestrian-related crashes and deaths.

It targets high-risk locations in the Greater Accra Region, including Adentan, Madina, Lapaz and Weija.

Mr Amaliba said the police MTTD must work with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce the use of footbridges and clear traders from pedestrian walkways to prevent pedestrian knockdowns.

He stressed that road safety was a shared responsibility and said the NRSA was working with the police and other stakeholders to address road crashes.

The call comes amid concerns about the increasing encroachment on road pavements and other infrastructure by traders and hawkers, which poses risks to pedestrians.

According to the NRSA, pedestrian knockdowns account for 33 per cent of deaths from reported road crashes.

Data cited in a Daily Graphic analysis of NRSA statistics show that 63,599 people died in road crashes across Ghana between 1991 and 2025, with about 20,988 of the 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: “A pedestrian who fails to use a footbridge or an underpass where one is provided, commits an offence.”

Regulation 154(10) further provides that a person who contravenes the regulation is liable, upon summary conviction, to a fine of not more than five penalty units, imprisonment for up to seven days, or both.

Meanwhile, an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician at the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Dr Daniel Asare, has called for greater collaboration among stakeholders to prevent pedestrian knockdowns and other road crashes.

He said road crashes not only resulted in the loss of lives but also had significant economic implications and placed additional pressure on the country’s emergency response system.

Dr Asare acknowledged that government investment in ambulances had improved emergency response times compared with previous years, but said road crashes remained a major concern.

“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.

He 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.