What must a driver do after a road accident in Ghana?

Section 124 of the Road Traffic Act applies when the presence of a motor vehicle on a road causes an accident that injures someone other than the driver, or damages another vehicle, a domestic animal, or property on or next to the road. The driver must:

• Stop, and if asked by someone with reasonable grounds, give the driver's name and address, the owner's name and address and the vehicle's identification marks.
• If an injured person asks, or is unconscious, or their injury appears to endanger life, attend to them, get them medical attention and, where necessary, get them to a hospital.
• Report the accident to a police station within twenty-four hours if it happened in a municipal area, and within forty-eight hours in any other case.

A driver who does not give their name and address must report the accident to the nearest police station (section 124(3)). Failing to stop, help or report is an offence. The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2008 sets the penalty at a fine of up to fifty penalty units, imprisonment of up to eight months, or both.

A police officer can require a person they reasonably believe was driving a vehicle involved in an accident to give their name and address and the owner's, and to produce the road use certificate and the certificate of insurance (section 121(1)).

Dangerous driving is a separate offence (section 1). Under the 2008 Amendment Act, where it causes the death of someone other than the driver, the penalty is imprisonment of three to seven years. On conviction, the court can order compensation to an injured person or their estate, and can withdraw the driver's licence for three to five years.

• Get medical help for anyone injured first.
• Write down the vehicle's registration number, the time and place, and the names and numbers of witnesses. Take photographs if it is safe.
• Report the accident at the nearest police station and ask for a record of your report.
• Keep medical reports, receipts and evidence of lost earnings or damage. You may be able to claim compensation from the driver in court.

• The driver must report within twenty-four hours in a municipal area and within forty-eight hours elsewhere (Road Traffic Act, section 124, as amended by Act 761).
• A court claim for negligence that includes damages for personal injury must be brought within three years of the date the claim arose (Limitation Act, section 3(1)).
• A claim for the benefit of the dependants of a person who died must be brought within three years of the death (Limitation Act, section 3(2)).