Timber transport by road in Ghana

Medium and heavy-duty articulated and rigid trucks are generally used for transporting timber and wood products in Ghana. Currently, over 90% of wood transport depends on roads and contribute significantly to the distribution of wood to both local and external markets. Following lack of uniform harvesting policies for a long time, many logging companies neglected to invest in the development of forest roads in areas outside the reserves. This led to extensive damage under the selective harvesting system and frequent social confrontations following demand for fair compensation. Secondly, as a result of inadequate control of axle load, timber trucks with excessive axle load inadvertently cause damage to public roads with additional high repair cost. There is also frequent involvement of disabled timber trucks in fatal road accidents following non-compliance of advance warning requirements for stationary vehicles. Other potential hazards posed by timber trucks on public roads include rolling of logs off trailers, non-recovery of lost logs and overloading. The articulated trucks are heavy-duty trucks used for transporting round logs, lumber and bulky wood products over long distances (>200 km). They comprise a series of two to three axle tractors (4 x 2 or 6 x 4) with trailer attachment serving as load space. The trailer is equipped with a turning plate