Vehicle owners in Ghana could lose abandoned or disabled vehicles to auction if they fail to arrange their prompt removal from roads under new road traffic regulations announced by the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA). Editorial Standards
The new measures are aimed at ensuring that vehicles involved in breakdowns or crashes do not remain on roads for extended periods and create additional risks for motorists, pedestrians and other road users.
Under the new rules, vehicle owners will be required to subscribe to a towing service or purchase an insurance policy that includes towing cover.
The arrangement is intended to ensure that motorists have access to towing services whenever their vehicles become disabled.
The Director of Registration, Inspection and Compliance at the NRSA, Kwame Koduah Attuahene, said vehicle owners who fail to comply with the requirement could have their vehicles compulsorily towed, with the associated cost charged to the owner.“
The law is that every vehicle owner will be required to subscribe to a towing service company or buy an insurance policy that has a towing service tied to it,” Mr Attuahene said.
He explained that the new requirements represent a change from previous regulations, under which motorists were allowed a limited grace period to respond when their vehicles broke down.“Once your vehicle breaks down, the law now requires that immediately you must have it towed.
In the old law, it gives you a 30-minute or one-hour grace period, but now the law is that as soon as you break down, you must have your vehicle towed,” he said.
Mr Attuahene made the comments during a national sensitisation programme on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1153), and the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519).
The sensitisation programme forms part of efforts to educate motorists and other road users about their responsibilities under the updated road traffic framework.
In addition to arranging immediate towing, motorists whose vehicles become disabled are expected to take steps to alert other road users.
According to the NRSA, motorists must place an advance warning triangle and notify their towing service provider when their vehicle is immobilised.
The towing company is then expected to notify the police or the NRSA and arrange for the vehicle to be removed from the road and taken to an appropriate storage facility. Editorial Ethics & Independence
The regulations also establish a timeframe within which owners are expected to reclaim vehicles that have been towed.
According to Mr Attuahene, vehicles moved to a storage facility will initially be kept for a maximum of seven days.
During that period, the owner is expected to take the necessary steps to reclaim the vehicle.Failure to reclaim the vehicle could trigger additional legal procedures, eventually leading to a judicial auction.
Mr Attuahene said vehicle owners would be given a further seven-day notice before an auction takes place.
This means that owners who fail to respond within the applicable periods could face the permanent loss of their vehicles.“After 21 days, you will be auctioned. You have seven days’ notice before the sale.
And where the sale is unsuccessful, the state will confiscate the vehicle and possibly scrap it,” he said.The measures place greater responsibility on motorists to have a clear plan for dealing with vehicle breakdowns and crashes.
Rather than leaving a disabled vehicle on the road while attempting to make arrangements, owners will be expected to ensure that towing support is available and activated immediately.
The NRSA says the approach is intended primarily as a road-safety measure. Abandoned or disabled vehicles can obstruct traffic, reduce road visibility and create dangerous situations, particularly on busy highways and roads where other motorists may have limited time to react.
A vehicle left unattended on a road can also contribute to congestion and increase the possibility of secondary crashes as drivers attempt to avoid the obstruction. Newscard
The towing requirement is therefore designed to encourage vehicle owners to take responsibility for the safe removal of their vehicles whenever they become disabled.“All of this is to ensure that we comply with the basic rule, which is that you must either subscribe or get a policy,” Mr Attuahene said.For motorists, the new framework makes towing arrangements an important part of vehicle ownership and road-use responsibilities.
Owners will need to understand the requirements of their towing subscriptions or insurance policies and ensure that they know how to access the service when an emergency occurs.
The NRSA’s sensitisation exercise is expected to help motorists understand the changes and comply with the updated requirements.
The introduction of the measures also signals a stronger enforcement approach towards vehicles that are left on public roads after breakdowns or crashes.
While the possibility of auction and eventual confiscation provides a significant incentive for owners to act promptly, the immediate objective remains the removal of disabled vehicles from roads to improve safety and reduce avoidable hazards.
Motorists are therefore being encouraged to prepare for breakdowns before they occur by securing appropriate towing arrangements and familiarising themselves with their responsibilities under the new road traffic regulations.