Research on the Reported Incidence of Motor Crash at the Tema General Hospital in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

A Road Motor Accident (RMA) is when a motor bicycle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal or geographical or architectural obstacle. The RMAs can result in injury, property damage and death. RMA results in the deaths of 1.2 m people worldwide each year and injures about 4 times this number.  (WHO, 2004). Road Motor Collision (RMC) is one of many public health problems. Globally, about 1.2 million people die due to RMCs every year. Of these, 85% reside in low and middle income countries. Rapid global motorization has been associated with increased traffic fatalities and injuries. (Paden M., McGee K. and Sharma G., 2004).  Eighty percent of the world’s motor bicycles are owned by 15% of the world’s population in North America, Japan, and Western Europe. One might expect the distribution of traffic injuries and fatalities to follow a similar pattern. Paradoxically, the burden of road motor crashes is disproportionately borne by citizens in developing countries. More than 85% of fatalities and 90% of disability-adjusted life years lost from road motor injuries occur in developing countries. (Mock C, Adjei S, Acheampong F, 2005).