Health hazards as a consequence of the poor technical condition of vehicles in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: This is a review to assess the health hazards resulted from the poor technical condition of vehicles in Ghana. In developing countries, the number of vehicles involved in road traffic is systematically increasing. The health consequences of road accidents are a crucial public concern.
 Methodology: The PubMed and Google scholar search were used to find literature for this analysis. The following keywords were taken into consideration in this paper: health hazards, technical conditions, vehicles, accidents, developing countries, Ghana. The analysis has been done by the systematic review analysis method. The articles were selected in terms of the health hazards resulting from the poor technical condition of vehicles in Ghana and its effects on road safety. Twenty papers were being reviewed.
 Main findings: The quality of vehicles on Ghanaian roads is low. Most of the cars are old. For economic reasons, users often use substandard products to repair cars. Poor-quality, non-original, mismatched parts can lead to an accident. The technical condition of vehicles affects the safety of road users. The security of citizens should be an essential goal of the state. Inspections of the technical condition of cars, especially in public transport, should be strengthened and the frequency increased.
 Implications: Based on the analysis of the publications, it was assessed that there is no current literature on technical problems of vehicles in Ghana, with particular emphasis on public transport. This is an essential topic for the security of citizens and should be investigated, analyzed, and lessons learned without delay.
 Novelty in this study: There is a lack of systematic reviews of the impact of health hazards resulted from the poor condition of vehicles in Ghana. The paper is an attempt to assess the impact of the problem.