Vehicle owners in Ghana who leave broken down or accident damaged vehicles on public roads without arranging their prompt removal could face compulsory towing, financial liability and ultimately the auction of their vehicles under newly introduced road traffic regulations.
The National Road Safety Authority has announced that motorists will now be required to make prior arrangements for towing services, either by subscribing to a recognised towing company or by purchasing an insurance policy that incorporates towing assistance.
The new requirement forms part of measures intended to ensure that disabled vehicles are removed from roads swiftly and do not become additional sources of danger to motorists, pedestrians and other road users.
The Director of Registration, Inspection and Compliance at the National Road Safety Authority, Kwame Koduah Attuahene, explained that vehicle owners who fail to comply with the requirement could have their vehicles towed compulsorily, with all associated expenses charged to the owners.
He said the revised regulations represented a significant departure from the previous arrangements, under which motorists were given a limited period to make arrangements following a vehicle breakdown.
According to him, the law now demands immediate action whenever a vehicle becomes disabled on the road.
Mr Attuahene explained that under the previous regulations, motorists could rely on a grace period of approximately thirty minutes to one hour before taking steps to remove a disabled vehicle. Under the new framework, however, that allowance no longer applies.
He said vehicle owners must therefore ensure that they have access to an appropriate towing arrangement before their vehicles encounter a breakdown or become involved in a road crash.
The NRSA official made the disclosure during a national sensitisation programme organised to educate the public on the Road Traffic Amendment Act, 2025, Act 1153, as well as the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026, L.I. 2519.
Under the new requirements, motorists whose vehicles become disabled are also expected to place an advance warning triangle at an appropriate location to alert approaching road users to the obstruction.
The vehicle owner must subsequently notify the towing service provider, which will be responsible for making arrangements for the vehicle to be removed from the roadway.
The towing company, in turn, is expected to notify either the Ghana Police Service or the National Road Safety Authority and facilitate the transportation of the vehicle to an approved storage facility.
The regulations further provide a structured process for dealing with vehicles that remain unclaimed after being towed.
According to the NRSA, a vehicle taken to a storage facility will initially be kept for a maximum period of seven days, during which the owner is expected to come forward, settle the applicable charges and reclaim the vehicle.
Where the owner fails to take action within the prescribed period, the authorities may commence further procedures leading to a judicial auction of the vehicle.
Mr Attuahene explained that owners would receive a seven day notice before their vehicles were offered for sale, giving them a final opportunity to resolve the matter and recover their property.
He cautioned that failure to respond even after the notice could result in the state taking further action where an auction does not succeed.
He said vehicles that could not be successfully sold at auction could eventually be confiscated by the state and, depending on their condition and the applicable legal requirements, potentially scrapped.
The NRSA says the measures are intended to address the risks created by disabled and abandoned vehicles, particularly on busy roads where stationary vehicles can obstruct traffic, trigger secondary collisions and expose other road users to unnecessary danger.
Mr Attuahene stressed that the central objective of the new requirements was to ensure that every vehicle owner had a reliable mechanism for dealing with a breakdown or crash.
He said motorists must therefore either maintain a subscription with a towing service provider or obtain an insurance policy that includes towing assistance.
The implementation of the new regulations is expected to place greater responsibility on vehicle owners to prepare for mechanical failures and road crashes while strengthening the authorities’ ability to remove abandoned vehicles from public roads.
The NRSA believes the enforcement of the new framework will contribute to safer roads by reducing the period during which broken down or damaged vehicles remain on major routes and by ensuring that appropriate action is taken immediately after a vehicle becomes immobilised.
