Olga Ernst / Wikimedia CommonsSignage in South Africa designed to prevent accidentsOlga Ernst / Wikimedia Commons
Even though it is home to just 15% of the global population and 3% of the world’s vehicles, the African continent accounts for almost 20% of the 1.2 million annual traffic deaths worldwide. A study by Science Africa and the World Health Organization (WHO) found that news reports do little to change the situation. News articles often attribute pedestrian deaths to individual failures and traffic accidents to bad behavior, not considering systemic problems such as unsafe roads, inadequate law enforcement, and a lack of sidewalks and crossings. Of the 932 reports analyzed, 65% treated collisions with pedestrians or other vehicles as isolated events and did not provide context, such as the number of previous fatalities in the same area. Only 14% mentioned road safety laws and 11% mentioned infrastructure quality. The articles were published by 25 major newspapers and television stations in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania between September 2021 and September 2024. The study authors recommend that journalists look at the context, rather than focusing solely on drivers and pedestrians, and track the causes of accidents and collisions, such as road conditions or vehicle maintenance failures (ScienceAfrica, February 7).
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