More than 1,600 people are killed annually through road traffic accidents, Mr Kwaku Oware-Boateng, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Road Safety Committee, has announced.

He said 43 percent of the fatalities involved pedestrians with about 23 percent representing children below the age of 16 years. These accidents, according to him, cost the nation an average of 1.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

Mr Oware-Boateng gave the statistics at a meeting for operators within the road sector in Kumasi on Thursday. Attending the meeting were Insurance Operators, driver associations and car owners.

Mr Oware-Boateng, attributed 60 percent of car crashes in the country to speeding saying the Ashanti Region was among the top five that accounted for more than 70 percent of the fatalities in the country.

He expressed concern about what he said was the unacceptably high rate of accidents on the road. "We cannot look on, we need to sit up and re-examine our strategies in order to arrest the situation."

He called on all Ghanaians to be involved in efforts at bringing down the spate of car crashes.

He advised motorists to desist from using mobile phones whilst driving, adding that they must avoid wrongful overtaking and ensure that they maintained their vehicles regularly. Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, Regional License Officer of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority, blamed road traffic accidents on recklessness on the part of some drivers, lack of proper maintenance and the bad nature of some of the roads. He urged drivers to learn the road signs and behave responsibly on the road.