The Legal Resources Centre has stepped up its national campaign on Ghana’s newly introduced motorcycle helmet standards, urging riders, regulators and unions to work together as the country prepares for the rollout of commercial motorcycling.
The push comes as Ghana recorded 2,949 road deaths in 2025, an 18 per cent rise from the previous year, with 6,548 motorcycles involved in crashes, according to figures from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
Recent approval by Parliament to legalise commercial motorcycle operations has also drawn fresh attention to the types of helmets riders and their pillion riders use across the country.
Welcoming participants at a sensitisation meeting with members of the commercial motor riders’ union in Accra, Mr Enock Jengre, a lawyer and Programme Officer at LRC, said the introduction of the Ghana Helmet Standard offered the country “a historic opportunity to reverse the deadly trend” of head injuries among riders.
“Our law has always required helmet use, but until now, Ghana had no single defined standard,” he said.
“The market became flooded with plastic caps masquerading as helmets,” he added.
“This new standard is our chance to save lives, and we must collectively ensure compliance.”
Recent NRSA’s data showed that motorcycle crashes rose 19 per cent in 2025, and two‑wheelers made up 74 per cent of vehicles involved in crashes in December alone.
“Excessive speeding continues to account for over 60 per cent of all crashes,” Mr Jengre added, emphasising that unsafe helmets only worsen crash outcomes.
Mr Kingsley Domena Yeboah, an Engineer at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), told the participants that setting standards was the first step before any crackdown could begin.
“If there’s no standard, you can’t describe anything as substandard,” he said when asked how unsafe helmets could be kept out of the market.
“Now that the standard exists, we can move on to enforcement.”
He said GSA, working with the DVLA and Customs, was now screening helmets at the ports.
“One of our key enforcement measures is at the point of entry. Helmets coming into the country must now meet the standards,” he stated.
“Importers are given the standards in advance, and if their products don’t comply, we give them time to adjust or change suppliers. After that moratorium, compliance becomes compulsory.”
He also explained that manufacturers must test helmets to the standards and submit a Certificate of Conformance (CoC) before their products were approved.
“Without that certificate, we will not approve the helmet to enter the country. It is the only evidence that shows the product meets the standards.”
Mr Yeboah noted that the loopholes that allowed unsafe helmets into the market existed largely because “there was nothing to regulate them.”
“People were bringing in anything because we had no regulation. But now we do, and from now onwards, this is what manufacturers and importers will face.”
He said that GSA was working with market groups such as Abossey Okai traders in Accra to identify all helmet importers and bring them under the new compliance regime.
“We are not forcing anyone, but if you want to sell to the public, the product must meet the standards. The government has a responsibility to protect its people.”
Mr Yeboah also encouraged riders to reject non‑compliant helmets, saying, “If someone brings a bad helmet and people keep buying it because it’s cheap, they will keep importing it.”
Stressing, “Users must learn to recognise quality, markings, absorption liners, proper construction, and stop buying unsafe helmets.”
NRSA’s Principal Planning Manager, Mr Denis Yeribu, said standardised helmets were essential as commercial motorcycle operations would become part of Ghana’s formal transport system.
“Head injuries are the leading cause of motorcycle crash deaths,” he said. “With commercial motorcycling now legalised, Ghana cannot allow substandard helmets to remain in circulation.”
“A properly designed helmet can reduce the risk of death by 40 per cent. That is not a statistic, it is a lifeline.”
He linked higher crash numbers in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions to heavy traffic and high‑speed corridors. “Where traffic volumes are high, collisions naturally rise.”
National Commercial Motor Riders Union welcomed the new standards, but expressed concern over being left out of key committees managing the Okada legalisation process.
Speaking to the GNA on the sidelines of the meeting, Mr Mohammed Tijani, National Chairman, said: “We are the people on the ground. You cannot form a 13‑member committee about Okada without the national leaders who run the sector. You cannot ask a fisherman to lead cocoa farmers; it will never work.”
He praised the development of the new standard but stressed the need for quality and affordability, stating, “The thick plastic helmets break the moment they fall. A standard helmet protects life. That is why we support it fully.”
Mr Abdul‑Razak Rahman, the union’s National Secretary, also noted that most helmets supplied with new motorbikes were unsafe, adding, “Some break when dropped from only five metres. That shows they are of poor‑quality.”
He added, “We want inner foams that cushion impact, chin straps that don’t snap, and proper ventilation so the helmets don’t smell or cause discomfort.”
He said riders wanted QR codes on helmets so that “both riders and enforcement officers could verify authenticity instantly.”
Mr Solomon Akpanaba, the union’s National PRO, added that many road crashes were rooted in lack of skill and training, not just speeding.
“About 90 to 95 per cent of crashes are caused by lack of skill,” he said. “We ride every day and do not crash. Training saves lives.”
He urged the government to fast‑track the legal framework for certified instructors to begin formal training, especially for delivery riders who faced fatigue and pressure from time‑sensitive jobs.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
20 Feb 2026
