Driving in Accra, and perhaps other cities in Ghana, is a daily grind, becoming increasingly difficult to cope with. Call it hazardous, and you would not be far from right, especially in certain parts of Accra.

Unfortunately, lately there have been too many traffic lights that aren't working and are left unattended for weeks, sometimes months, adding to the stress for drivers, especially those of us who want to drive safely and soundly.

There are also too many sirens and warning flashes from behind or from oncoming vehicles as one waits in a very tight traffic queue with no space to pull aside or give way. These nuisance sirens and “emergency lights” tend to completely confuse a conscientious driver whose focus is on driving safely.

Default lights

Earlier this year, I started counting how many default traffic lights there were whenever I was out there. I, however, lost complete count, realising that I was overburdening myself needlessly. Now the reality is dawning, and one cannot help but speak out. There are just too many malfunctioning traffic lights to contend with.

Many drivers will admit that the chaos and danger at intersections with faulty traffic lights pose a risk in this era of endless lawlessness among commercial motorcycle riders (Okada) and now tricycle riders. They have tripled in numbers, and their bold affronts in causing additional mayhem at intersections where traffic lights are not functioning are unimaginable.

Though one tries hard to grapple with the nuances of Okada and tricycles on normal days, on abnormal days, when traffic lights do not work, especially at busy intersections, which is where one begins to curse those who are in charge of traffic lights in the city. Is it that they do not care, that their systems do not function well, and so they are unable to tell which one is faulty from their control rooms, or that they do not have systems in place for automatic tracking?

Ordinarily, why should traffic lights, which are meant to bring normalcy and some degree of orderliness on our busy roads, be left to go off for months and weeks?  

Sirens and warning lights

As the neglect goes on unattended, others take advantage to cause even more mayhem on our roads. I am talking about those who consistently use sirens and warning lights to get through traffic as if they are special and cannot wait in line, just like everyone else out there.

A friend recounted how, at a non-functional traffic light in the airport area, a motorcycle with a siren, leading a convoy of four vehicles with flashing lights, hit the back of her car at a faulty traffic light intersection, where there was chaos as usual, with no room to manoeuvre to the side. The siren just sped off. 

The car was badly dented, so she drove to the nearest police station to report, and was told that because those motorcades with sirens were not identified by number plates, it was difficult to trace the culprit.  She had to bear thousands of cedis in repairs to get her car fixed.

Crack down on sirens, emergency lights

The good news is that in some areas on the highways, the police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) seems to be cracking down on the needless use of sirens and emergency lights.

In the Ghanaian Times newspaper of last Tuesday, June 2, the East Regional MTTD is reported to have arrested 13 drivers for the unauthorised use of sirens and emergency lights during a special enforcement exercise conducted along the Kasoa-Winneba highway.

Reportedly, the operation that took place on 30th May at Budumburam was meant to educate offenders on Regulations 65 and 74 of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (L.I. 2180), after which they were processed in accordance with the law.

Further to that, drivers who were found using unauthorised sirens and emergency lamps had them removed from their vehicles, and the drivers were issued with warning letters and cautioned against the practice.

Perhaps it is time for the MTTDs in the capital to start applying Regulations 65 and 74 to check the unauthorised use of sirens and flashlights in traffic by a few, while taking serious action on malfunctioning traffic lights. Restoring them to proper functioning will help the police focus on other policing issues while maintaining safety at intersections.

The police MTTDs, admittedly, are doing their best to assist in the mornings to bring some sanity where the lights are not working.  However, by mid-morning when they leave for their various offices, chaos returns. 

We need our traffic lights to work all the time, 24 hours a day, nonstop. They help to enforce order and discipline on our roads while keeping all drivers and pedestrians safe.

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The writer can be reached via email at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com