Brake Failure and its Effect on Road Traffic Accident in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

Ghana in recent years has seen dramatic increase in vehicular growth. Vehicular transport in Ghana is growing with increased socio economic activities. With so many cars on our roads, the rate of vehicular accident has also increased with many people died or sustained serious injuries in traffic accidents. This study reports on the brake failure and its effect on road traffic accident in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. The research design used for this study was survey which relied on questionnaire to generate data for analysis and discussion. The results indicate that, 195 (40%) of the vehicle users agreed that brake failure is cause by low or shortage of brake fluid whiles, 158 (33%) of the respondent said it was due to brake overheating. For brake servicing periods only, 69 (14%) of the drivers will service their vehicle on the 5000 km servicing period with majority 189 (39%) of the drivers sending their vehicle for brakes repairs only when the brakes develop a fault a situation which is more worrying. A total of 402(83%) of the respondents agreed that brake failure could result in vehicle accident and vehicle should be service regularly to reduce brake failure. The study recommends that law enforcing agencies should ensure vehicle users maintained their vehicles most especially the brakes and the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should intensify their campaign on regular brake servicing checks in the country.