Road traffic crashes at night-time: characteristics and risk factors

The study was to examine the nature and risk factors associated with road traffic crashes at night in Ghana and identify potential measures to control them. Crash and injury data for the period 2013-2017 were analyzed. The fatality index and fatal crash ratio measures were employed to assess the severity of injuries among traffic participants. Statistical analysis was carried out for the variables using contingency tables and the chi-square (χ²) tests to assess statistical significance. Generally, night-time traffic crashes resulted in severer injury outcomes than crashes in the hours of daylight (χ²(2)=292.7, p < 0.001). The relative risk of death in a night traffic crash was 1.3 times that during the daytime. The risk of death was highest among pedestrians (44%) and motorcyclist (18%) compared to bus/mini-bus occupants (16%) and car occupants (11%) and the observed percentage differences were significant (χ²(14)=2303.2, p < 0.001). Most of the collisions (67%) occurred at the early hours of the night, between 18:00 and 22:00 hours. Poor night visibility coupled with poor visual guidance on roads are the key contributory risk factors associated with night travels. Policies must be geared towards provision of functioning street lights in built-up areas, road line markings, delineators and signage for the highways and arterial roads.