- CUTS calls billboard clutter a major road hazard
- Billboards blamed for obstructing driver visibility
- Ghana records 1,504 road deaths in first half of 2025
CUTS International is calling on Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce billboard placement regulations, warning that visual obstructions and distractions are increasingly contributing to road accidents.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, July 23, at the Ghana International Press Centre, Appiah Kusi Adomako, West Africa Regional Director of CUTS, described Ghana’s road safety situation as a “crisis” demanding urgent government intervention.
“Traveling on our roads today requires not only caution but faith,” he said.
Data from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) reveals that Ghana recorded 7,289 road crashes involving over 12,000 vehicles in the first half of 2025. These resulted in 1,504 deaths and more than 8,300 injuries — a 22% increase in deaths and a 10% rise in injuries compared to 2024.
“These are not just statistics,” Adomako said. “They are human lives — teachers, traders, parents, children — lost suddenly and needlessly.”
As part of its advocacy, CUTS proposed 14 policy actions to improve road safety, including tighter blood alcohol regulations and amending existing road traffic laws. One key recommendation urges MMDAs to regulate billboard installations to avoid obstructing driver visibility.
“Authorities must act to remove billboards that distract or block drivers’ line of sight. This requires immediate police support,” the organisation stated.
Adomako shared a personal experience: “At a junction near my house, I have to inch forward dangerously just to check for traffic — because over 20 billboards crowd the area, approved by the local assembly.”
Separately, the NRSA has issued a 21-day ultimatum to 29 MMDAs to remove illegal billboards, warning of legal action for noncompliance.
CUTS is also urging the government to declare road crashes a national public health emergency, noting that road fatalities average eight deaths per day.
Dennis Yeribu of the NRSA, speaking at the same event, underscored the urgency:
“It’s 11:00 a.m. — and we may have already lost two or three lives today.”
