It is well known that traffic accidents are of high importance to the public health spectrum in the world.
Moreover, in developing countries such as Ghana, the mortality rates from road traffic accidents are rather high
compared to other countries in this region. Media reports reveal that Ghana's road accident's is very high,
compared to other developing countries. In 2001, Ghana was rated as the second highest road traffic accidentprone
nation among six West African countries, with 73 deaths per 1000 accidents. (Sarpong, 2011). Road
accidents have great effect on any country's economy especially, a developing country, like Ghana. Statistics
from the National Road Safety Commission shows that, Ghana loses about 1.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic
Product which is over 230 million dollars every year beside the loss of lives to road accidents. (Ghana news
agency, 2010). Many people continue to be negligent and ignore the dangers involved in driving and few
precautions are observed by motorists. The most talked about and serious cause of accidents nowadays in Ghana
is the use of cell phone while driving.
Another cause of road accidents is over speeding. Motorists who go beyond or below the prescribed speed limits
on road could hit other vehicles and they could be hit as well. Statistics show that about 30% of accidents on the
roads are caused because of speeding. (Akongbota, 2011). Also, driving while intoxicated can cause fatal road
accidents. Alcohol and drugs can affect ones driving skills. It causes general impairment of the brain and the
function of nervous system. Drivers who drive tired or exhausted are mostly sleepy, agitated and aggressive on
the roads. Fatigue can affect their clear thinking if they encounter a glitch on the roads and this can lead to
accident. Some drivers disregard road rules since they are more concerned of getting to their destination than of
how they would get there especially in the festive seasons as there are always many passengers and they want to
travel as many times as they can to take advantage of the increasing number of passengers. Such drivers would
violate road rules and laws just to get to where they are going. All these, would definitely cause serious road
accidents. As much as accidents are caused by various factors, there are always preventive measures or steps that
can be taken to prevent them. This study aims at examining factors, that have a higher potential for serious injury
or death, such as accident location, type, and time; collision type; age and, nationality of driver at fault, and his
licensing status; and vehicle type.
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The Logistic regression and SPSS version 19 is used in this study to estimate the effect of the statistically
significant factors on severity. Logistic regression and other related-categorical-data regression have been widely
used in accident related studies. However, it has also been used to assess risk factors for various diseases.