Bicyclists’ accident pattern in Northern Ghana

Background: Utilitarian cycling constitutes an important form of travel in Northern Ghana. Although cycling provides an indispensable way of reducing automobile pollution, traffic congestions and meeting the minimum daily physical activity recommended for healthy living, limited cycling infrastructure is available in Northern Ghana. This situation has fostered the mixture of cycles and, fast and robust motorized vehicles on the roadways, thus presenting an ominous road safety condition. The objective of this research is to establish the injury severity and pattern among bicyclists in Northern Ghana. Methodology: A ten-year (2005 to 2014) accident data from Ghana was analyzed for the Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa Municipalities in Northern Ghana. Analysis was basic descriptive. Results: During the decade, 253 cyclists’ casualties occurred in the three cities out of which, 51% was fatal, 35% was serious and 13% was minor injuries. Ninety-three percent of cyclists’ accident victims were males. Cyclists were more likely to die when they collide with two or more vehicles, heavy goods vehicles or buses. Apparently, cyclists were not at fault in 58% of their casualty injuries while 25% and 7% were respectively attributable to carelessness and excessive speeding on the part of the cyclists. Also, of all the fatal cyclist's casualties, 64% of the riders (n = 83) was not at fault while 23% and 6% were respectively attributable to cyclists’ carelessness and speeding. Conclusion: Cycling has important health and environmental benefits to humanity. Nevertheless, more than 50% of cyclists involved in road crashes died through accidents, thus suggesting an important road safety concern. Improvement of cycle safety in Northern Ghana may be attained by building infrastructure such as cycle paths and demarcating lanes to physically separate cyclists from motorized transport. Explicit policies such as the minimum passing distance policy may give a further boost to cycling safety in Ghana.