Motorcycle crashes accounted for 1,345 of the 2,949 road deaths reported in Ghana in 2025, Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe said in August. The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) gave TV3 the same figures in March. That is 45.6%, or about 3.7 deaths a day, by StatsGH's calculation.
The figure matters this week. On Thursday 12 November, Uber unveiled Uber Moto, its motorcycle ride-hailing service, at an event at the British Council in Accra, Citi Newsroom reported. NRSA Director-General Abraham Amaliba and Iddisah Seidu Yeboah, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority's (DVLA) deputy chief executive for operations, unveiled it.
At the same event, Mr Amaliba said motorcycles accounted for 36.6% of road traffic deaths in 2024, Modern Ghana reported from a government information officer's account. The report said he warned that the service should not become an additional source of road crashes.
What the numbers show
Ghana recorded 2,494 road deaths in 2024 and 2,949 in 2025, 455 more and up 18.2%, NRSA figures reported by Graphic show. The 2025 total was the highest in 35 years.
How much of that rise came from motorcycles cannot be said with confidence. The 2024 and 2025 shares come from different officials at different events, and neither said exactly what was counted (riders, passengers, or pedestrians hit by motorcycles). Only if they measure the same thing does the arithmetic work like this.
About 913 deaths would have involved motorcycles in 2024 (36.6% of 2,494). Motorcycle deaths would then have risen by about 432, or 47%, and all other road deaths by about 23, or 1.4%. On that reading, motorcycles would account for about 95% of last year's increase.
The result is sensitive to the 2024 share. At 40%, for example, motorcycles would be about three-quarters of the rise.
2024 split derived from NRSA's 36.6% share; definitions may differ.
Other about 1,581
Other 1,604
Main chart, 0–3,500 deaths. Sources: NRSA via Graphic, Modern Ghana/ISD, ChannelOne; StatsGH calculation.
NRSA's 2025 figures count 6,548 motorcycles among the 24,938 vehicles involved in crashes (26.3%), Graphic reported. The same report suggests this category covers all cycles: two-wheel motorbikes were 72% of them and tricycles 25%.
The share is higher in the capital. In Greater Accra, about 226 of 420 road deaths in 2025 were from motorcycle crashes, NRSA's regional director Joshua Quist said in March, ChannelOne reported. That is 54%.
This year's provisional police figures use a narrower measure. From January to September 2026, 2,151 people died on the roads, and motorcycle riders were 37% of them, Graphic reported in October.
Our earlier story on TraffiTech fines covers those figures: https://www.statsgh.com/infrastructure-and-transport/ghana-traffitech-gh240-speeding-fines-road-deaths-eight-a-day-2026-11-14.
The new rules
Parliament passed the Road Traffic Amendment Bill on 11 December 2025 to legalise and regulate commercial motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles, Graphic reported. Under the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), riders need a commercial rider's licence from the DVLA.
In October NRSA said it would start registering operators in November. Unions must operate in at least eight regions with at least 100 vehicles in each; companies need at least 50 vehicles in one region, Graphic reported.
We did not find how many riders or motorcycles Uber Moto has signed up.
What people on X are saying
Citi FM's post on Mr Amaliba's warning (@Citi973) drew about 2,100 impressions. It said he "has warned against compromising road safety as Ghana embraces new transport services, including motorcycle ride-hailing". We found little other reaction from Ghanaian accounts to the launch.
What it means
Uber Moto adds commercial riders at a time when motorcycle crashes account for almost half of reported road deaths. Whether licensing and registration bring that down will show only in the 2026 and 2027 totals.
We did not ask NRSA, the DVLA, the Transport Ministry or Uber for comment for this story.
Limitations
The 2025 count of 1,345 comes from the minister (Graphic, 24 August) and from NRSA as quoted by TV3 (via GHnow, 5 March). We did not find a published NRSA table with the motorcycle breakdown. The 36.6% share for 2024 comes from a single report of Mr Amaliba's remarks.
The same Graphic article of 24 August also says motorcyclists are "just over a quarter of Ghanaian road deaths", without a year or source. That conflicts with the minister's figure, and we follow the minister. The 913 figure for 2024 is derived from a rounded percentage (range about 912 to 914) and assumes the two shares are comparable.
Police (MTTD) and NRSA figures may differ in coverage. Reported deaths are likely to undercount, NRSA's research director told Graphic in January.
Sources: Citi Newsroom, "Road safety must not be sacrificed for transport innovation – Amaliba", 14 Nov 2026. Modern Ghana (ISD contributor Judith Twumwaa), "NRSA warns Uber moto riders against road safety violations", 13 Nov 2026. Graphic Online, "Road safety agencies to implement helmet standard for rider protection", 24 Aug 2026. GHnow, "1,345 out of 2,949 road fatalities in 2025 caused by Okada crashes – NRSA", 5 Mar 2026. Graphic Online, "Road crashes killed 2,949 in Ghana in 2025, the highest in 35 years — Road Safety Authority", 27 Jan 2026. Graphic Online, "Over 1,300 road crashes reported last year" (NRSA 2024 figures), 11 Apr 2025. ChannelOne News, "NRSA: Over half of road fatalities in Gt. Accra linked to motorbikes", 16 Mar 2026. Graphic Online, "Road sector institutions mobilise to tackle crashes", 16 Oct 2026. Graphic Online, "Authority begins Okada operator registration in November", 27 Oct 2026. StatsGH, "GH¢240 speeding fines arrive as Ghana's road deaths run at eight a day", 14 Nov 2026. X post: @Citi973.