Turning Our Roads into Battlefields

It is often said that “all is fair in love and war” but have you not heard of people who have been tried and punished for war crimes? Love birds who have allowed jealousy to rule them have had to exchange their beds at home with that of a cell. After an ambulance ride across Accra I have concluded that “all is fair on our roads.”

Our roads are competing with war zones for honours. Which one kills more? Which one maims more? The list of atrocities is endless. Ghana loses over $230million every year to road traffic accidents and 60% of these accidents are caused by over-speeding and drunk driving. Some of our roads may have potholes or pits and in a few areas we have huge crevices with roads in between them but after all is said and done our attitude is probably our greatest setback. During my ambulance ride with a patient I realized that from the trotro driver who found himself behind the wheels of a vehicle through a miraculous act, the apparently well educated middle-aged young lady driving an SUV who felt it was her right to keep driving despite the obviously blaring siren of the ambulance, to the policeman who kept directing traffic totally oblivious of his surroundings and of course the cyclist who felt it was okay to cross an ambulance, we all need to get back to the basics of road use.

Using the road can be likened to a stint on the battlefield. There is chaos! Drivers stop, turn and move at will without signaling and if you should complain you will be greeted with a barrage of insults. I pity anyone who lives more than four (4) miles from their place of work. You will often arrive at work drained by the stress and you return home cursing. That mood is certainly not good for innocent family members.

We will not be able to control road traffic accidents and its effects only by wearing seatbelts, making sure our vehicles are road worthy and our streets well lit. We need to take a close look at changing our attitude and we will look at a few areas.

1. The Police

a. I like the police, they protect us and I have many friends in the unit but I worry a lot when I see an “arrest” being made of a car with a DVLA plate or some other trivial reason right in the middle of the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Please keep the traffic moving and let other colleagues at vantage points deal with such issues. Of course there may be instances when the crime is so unpardonable that you will need to stop them even if it requires creating traffic by getting someone to move all the way out of the inner lane. I hope the police have a means of communicating with their colleagues.

2. Road Signs

a. The George Bush Highway is beautiful but certainly incomplete. Road markings and directional signs are rare. Quite often the turning you need to use will just creep up on you. The busy drivers who think waiting is a crime will not think twice before crossing three lanes of fast moving cars to get to the turning. I think we should have several directional signs starting at least 2 miles from each turning to help us choose the appropriate lane. I guess those in charge expect us to learn over time but that is disastrous.

3. Knowledge of Regulations

a. I do not think even 50% of our road users have a clue about regulations and ethics on the road. Most of us are limited. I see trucks moving at snail pace in the inner lanes all the time. Why can’t we have signs that read “inner lane only for overtaking?”

b. The folks driving the bullion vans are real bullies. Why do they think they have the right to switch their hazard lights on and drive facing oncoming traffic? It is so scary. I think there is a law that prevents them from doing that. I think they rather draw attention to themselves. Really! do they always have money in there?

c. These days anyone riding a beautiful luxury car thinks he should not stay in traffic. They often behave just like the bullion van drivers. If you need to engage in any antics on the road, please keep us safe and request for police escort.

4. Road Construction (pot holes and pits)

a. I always cringe when I have to use a road at night especially when I have not used it in over 24 hours. There are huge pits at several junctions and you definitely will need to visit the mechanic when you accidentally fall into one. You will be lucky if your car does not need bodyworks after such an encounter. Yes we will always leave such pits uncovered and with no warning signs.

b. Why don’t we maintain our roads? We only do some work when there is a problem or one of the amenity providers decides to lay a cable right across the road. Certainly we cannot spare time to cover up this mess properly.

c. We dodge speed ramps (or hills), potholes etc with total disregard for oncoming vehicles. It does not matter to us that we are moving into their lanes and need to wait till the time is right. How can you, with an impatient taxi driver hooting his horn behind you.

5. Speed limits

a. We speed unnecessarily in residential areas, in congested urban slums and in places you can never imagine. What is the hurry? Can we have signs with speed limits please!

b. I have seen vehicles (including myself) stopped for over speeding on a quiet but good highway but not once in a residential area.

6. Riders

a. I thought all road users; and this includes pedestrians and riders (cyclists, bikers) had to obey traffic regulations. The riders will flout the law and ride boldly through a red light even in the full glare of uniformed men. Pardon me but not once have I (emphasis on I) seen one of such riders being arrested. Not only do they put their own lives at risk but they also cause accidents when oncoming vehicles have to brake suddenly to avoid hitting them.

7. Pollution

a. Don’t we have any laws restricting the honking of horns? We need to stop this noise pollution. Some drivers think it is fun to hoot their horns and they will even do this while they are parked or even in the vicinity of a hospital.

b. The exhaust fumes do not need any further introduction.

8. Littering our Roads

a. Riding in a vehicle does not give you the mandate to throw rubbish onto the street. We need to keep our roads clean

b. To the drivers of trucks that transport our garbage. Why do you punish us for paying you to provide us with a service? Do these people intentionally drop garbage on the road so that they can create space to load more? I know those in charge are reading.

Our roads are sending us to our graves instead of making us more comfortable and we all need to work together to save lives that contribute meaningfully to nation building.

Source;

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Moms’ Health Club