Lived experiences of inter-urban commercial bus drivers involved in road traffic crashes in Central Region, Ghana

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of Central Region, Ghana showing the different urban areas.

Source: GIS Unit, Department of Geography and Regional Planning, UCC.

Table 1. Causes of RTCs.

Themes	Quotes
Causes of RTCs
Sharp curve	‘I was once involved in an RTC where there are sharp curves coming from Accra approaching the Gomoa Axis of the highway’ (A 37 years old married driver with 13-year driving experience). ‘There is a sharp curve at Arkako so I could not see the opposite traffic clearly. All that I saw was a medium size bus driver overtaking a vehicle on my lane. I tried swerving him but ended up falling in the ditch’ (A 46- year old married driver with more than 15-year experience).
Pot hole	‘I ran into the big pothole filled with water with my first front and the back tyres. I later lost control of the steering and was lucky to hit a tree just close by’ (A 32-year male driver with 8-year driving experience).
Weather condition (rainfall)	It was raining on that road a day before I was involved in an RTC. (A 32-year male driver with 8-year driving experience).
Police checkpoint	‘I did not know that the police had mounted a checkpoint on the road’ (A 46-year old married driver with more than 15-year driving experience)
Flat tyre	‘ I had a flat tyre on a rainyg day’ (a 32-year male driver with 8-year driving experience)

Table 2. Post RTCs experiences.

Themes	Quotes
Pre-hospital care	“We were carried to Winneba Trauma Hospital in a Good Samaritan commercial bus (A 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience). ‘I was unconscious as a result of the accident and later learnt that we were transported to the nearest health centre in another commercial bus that was passing at the time of RTCs’ (a 57-year old divorcee with 30-year driving experience).
Inability to work (drive)	‘I have been unable to drive for long because of the RTCs in which I was involved in about two years ago. But I have to work to take care of my family’ (a 48-year old married driver with 26-year driving experience) ‘I did not work for two months’ (a 46-year old married driver with more than 15-year driving experience).
Lost of wages/monthly income	‘I was making more money before the RTCs but my monthly salary was not able to sustain me after the RTCs’ (a 46 years old married driver with more than 15-year driving experience). ‘I was not earning any wage during the period and mostly depended on my little savings for the upkeep of my family’ (a 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience).
Memory haunting	‘There is this fear that grips me anytime that I am approaching the curve. So I often approach the curve with caution’ (a 48 years old married driver with 26-year driving experience).
Welfare package	Although my boss paid my monthly income I was still living on the gifts of my colleagues at the terminal with the supports from my wife. I had to be buying drugs during the two months” (a 46-year old married driver with more than 15-year experience). ‘I was not earning any wage during the period and mostly depended on my little savings for the upkeep of my family’ (a 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience).

Table 3. Suggestions to prevent RTCs and take care of survivors.

Themes	Quotes
Prevention of road crashes
Road safety education for drivers	‘The NRSC with our union leaders should increase the tempo of the road safety training. Even last year one company came to train us at Town hall’ (a 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience). ‘The training should not be seasonal like during the yuletide seasons. The NRSC should be moving from terminal to terminal educating the drivers on the danger of RTCs’ (a 46-year old married driver with more than 15-year experience).
Road maintenance	‘Our roads are in bad shape with big potholes. The government should fill those potholes’ (a 48 years old married driver with 26-year driving experience).
Presence of MTTD	‘I don’t know why these police like mounting checkpoints at where there are sharp curves or where you can’t easily see them unless prompted by colleagues’ (a 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience). ‘There is sanity when there are checkpoints on the routes. Drivers tend to obey traffic rules’ (a 46-year old married driver with more than 15-year driving experience).
Sanctioning the errant driver	‘We are being told by our union leaders to report errant drivers. Sometimes these drivers are sanctioned’ (A 32-year male driver with 8-year driving experience).
Taking care of survivors
Welfare package	‘The union leaders can decide to take a percentage of the transport fare as our daily contribution meant in the case of an emergency like this’ (a 37-year male driver with 8-year driving experience). ‘The union leaders can ask us to make a weekly contribution of 10GHS (more than $2 weekly) for emergencies like this’ (a 56 year- old married driver with more than 30 year driving experience)
Insurance scheme	‘Our leaders or car owners should insure our lives in addition to the vehicles’ (A 37 years old married driver with 13-year driving experience). ‘Insurance companies should come around to educate us on the importance of personal insurance’ (a 46 years old married driver with more than 15-year driving experience).

Source: Fieldwork, 2017.