Editorial: Growing Number Of Car Crashes Should Be A Sign Of Concern

A video circulating on social media, in which drivers of Toyota Voxy vehicles explain the causes of the growing number of crashes involving the model, offers a disturbing glimpse into the realities of commercial transport in Ghana.

According to the drivers, financial pressure from vehicle owners remains the primary driver of reckless behaviour on the road. High weekly sales targets compel drivers to rush trips, overspeed and disregard basic safety protocols in order to meet expectations.

Some drivers also point to inexperience, noting that the automatic transmission of the Toyota Voxy creates a false sense of ease. This misconception, they say, leads some drivers to underestimate the skill and caution required to handle the vehicle, particularly at high speed and on long-distance routes. Others blame passenger pressure, explaining that demands to arrive quickly often push drivers into dangerous driving decisions.

These revelations come at a time when road traffic crashes are surging. Provisional national statistics show that the Greater Accra Region recorded a 91.6 per cent increase in crashes in December 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The region also recorded 39 additional deaths, representing a 10.2 per cent rise. Of all crashes recorded in December, 45 per cent were classified as minor, 38 per cent serious and 17 per cent fatal a grim indicator of worsening road safety conditions.

The troubling revelations by the drivers have peeled back the curtain on a dangerous reality that many Ghanaians already sense but rarely confront honestly. What we are witnessing on our roads is not merely reckless driving; it is a deadly business model sustained by profit-driven transport practices, weak regulation and a collective disregard for human life.

According to the drivers, financial pressure sits at the heart of the crisis. Vehicle owners impose high weekly sales targets, often disconnected from road conditions, traffic congestion and safety considerations. Drivers who fail to meet these targets risk losing their jobs. Faced with this reality many resort to overspeeding, cutting corners and driving for dangerously long hours. This is not an excuse for recklessness, but it is a clear indictment of a system that rewards speed over safety and income over life.

Equally disturbing is the issue of inexperience. Some drivers admit that the automatic transmission of the Toyota Voxy creates a false sense of ease. The assumption that automatic vehicles require less skill has led to poor training standards and the recruitment of drivers ill-prepared to handle commercial passenger transport, particularly on highways and long-haul routes. Automatic transmission does not eliminate the need for discipline, road awareness or defensive driving. When inexperience meets pressure and speed, disaster is almost guaranteed.

Passenger behaviour further fuels this crisis. In a society increasingly obsessed with speed and convenience, drivers are routinely pressured to “hurry up” or “make time.” These demands, though casually made, can push drivers into dangerous decisions. Passengers must recognise that silence in the face of reckless driving is not neutrality; it is complicity.

All these factors collide on roads that are themselves unfit for safe travel. Across the country potholes, eroded shoulders, missing road markings, poor lighting and inadequate signage have become the norm rather than the exception. In the Greater Accra Region, where congestion is chronic and infrastructure overstretched, driving requires caution and patience. Instead, it has become a race against time, money and survival.

It is, therefore, not surprising that civil society organisations have raised the alarm. Road Safety Advocates-Ghana (RoSAG), a leading non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting safer roads and responsible driving, has called for an immediate ban on the registration and licensing of Toyota Voxy vehicles.

According to RoSAG, the widespread commercial use of converted right-hand-drive Voxy vehicles represents a “predictable and preventable public safety crisis.” The organisation has gone further to describe the vehicles as “rolling death traps,” particularly on long-haul routes where speed and driver fatigue are common.

The Chronicle believes that government has been dangerously slow and reactive. The Ministry of Transport, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and the National Road Safety Authority cannot continue to operate in silos while lives are lost daily. There must be a comprehensive review of vehicle conversion standards, stricter enforcement of licensing and training requirements, and clear regulations governing commercial transport operations, including sales targets imposed by vehicle owners.

Enforcement must also be visible and consistent. Traffic laws lose their deterrent effect when violations go unpunished. Speeding, driver fatigue and unsafe vehicles should attract swift sanctions, not selective enforcement. And government should not wait for public outrage before acting.

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