ROAD CONDITIONS IN GHANA

                              video of  dirty and dusty road. Video credit: Owusu-Ansah Bridgette.

An exposed road during the rainy season. picture credit: Owusu-Ansah Bridgette

       
     
             Driving in Ghana can be a very enjoyable experience in some parts of the world but it can be a death trap in some nations. Ghana for one seems to be an example of the latter nations. One of the first spectacles that strikes any visitor to Ghana is the condition of the roads and heavy traffic especially in Accra. The main roads connecting the many other cities to Accra and circles such as the Nkrumah, J.B Danquah, Obetsebi-Lamptey and Ako-Adjei circles are in fairly good condition. However as soon as one turns from these main highways into the residential areas such as East and North Legon and Cantoments, one is greeted with a few good roads and many others with potholes several feet wide and deep even in these high income areas.

            On the other hand, in places such as Dansoman, Madina, Adenta and Ofankor, this is a nightmare. During the rainy season especially during the latter part of June, drivers are faced with the problem of not knowing how deep these potholes on roads now filled with water are. Drivers just hope that the pools of water in the roadways are not too deep to swallow their vehicles and as such throw caution to the winds and just drive through.
        
           The use of gravel then comes as a solution to help cover up potholes and also to surface new roads.This however leads to flying gravel stones smashing windscreens of oncoming vehicles and thus needs to be seriously considered. For a country that does not manufacture vehicles of any kind but rather has to rely on importation of both vehicles  and vehicle parts, the economic impact of broken vehicle parts is an enormous one.

A dusty and  exposed road. Picture credit: Owusu-Ansah Bridgette

          Another consequence of the road condition described above is that dust is blown into the air by vehicles using these exposed roads which have not been surfaced. This in turn may lead to the outbreak of asthmatic conditions in people and other respiratory diseases. This consequence is also contributed to by smoke emissions from the many vehicles plying the city roads.There are apparently no laws regulating vehicle emissions in the country and if there are, there is no enforcement of these laws.

An exposed road with potholes filled with water. Picture credit: Owusu-Ansah Bridgette.

           In other words not only is the economy hurting from these conditions but the health of the population is also at risk. As if the never ending condition of roads in Ghana is not bad enough, there does not seem to be any kind of traffic management in most places.Many of the road intersections, be they T- or four-road junctions or approaches to the circles, do not have traffic signals or traffic officers managing them. The result is lots of yelling, horn honking, no vehicles moving, and precious time lost.I believe that these conditions described above did not emerge just yesterday. The attitude unfortunately seems to be that this is how things are and have been and therefore they are acceptable. It is not acceptable and government should be held responsible.

ROAD ACCIDENTS

                            Video of an accident scene. Video credit: youtube.com
      
         
                 The sight of ambulances and police cars racing to the scene of a road accident in the city or on a busy highway is becoming so common in modern countries that few heads now turn even in idle curiosity.This is part of the tragedy of  road accidents. They occur so often that they are taken for granted and the public has grown accustomed to them. A fire outbreak, murder or riot is still  front page news. A serious motor accident resulting in gruesome injuries and loss of lives however gets a small back page paragraph, except to the relatives of those involved, whose lives maybe shattered and reduced to pitiful sadness, often poverty.

Picture credit: roadsafetyinghana.blogspot.com

           Road accidents have become one of the leading causes of deaths in Ghana and the world. Efforts by government to reduce road accidents have been coupled with road safety awareness and education. Although it has helped in away it has not totally curbed this menace because of its increased occurrences. Statistics from the National Road Safety Commission revealed that there were 19 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles in 2010. In 201l, 2,330 road accidents were recorded bringing it to an average of  7 accidents per day across the country. By November ending in 2012, 13,535 crashes had been recorded resulting in over 2,069 deaths in Ghana. In December 2012 alone, 246 people died and 1,260 were injured in car accidents. According to the commission, the major cause of road accidents in Ghana was attributed to over-speeding which accounted for 60% of car crashes in the country.

            Furthermore, while some Ghanaians attribute road accidents to some superstitious and religious beliefs, to the Road Safety Management Services, the major causes of road accidents in Ghana are over-speeding, poor driving skills, talking on mobile phones while driving, broken down vehicles on our roads, fatigue driving by long distance drivers, drunk driving, ignoring road markings and signs. These reasons without any shred of doubt are all credible facts accepted by all. Over-speeding accounts for most of the causes of road accidents daily. This happens when drivers deliberately drive above regulated speed limits either to show off, meet deadlines or just for fun. In doing so, they put their lives and that of many other road users at risk.

Picture credit: Ghanabusinessnews.com

                The inability of some drivers to understand or obey road signs is also another factor. Following appropriate rules such as road signs and traffic lights when one reaches intersections or hills will help save lives. Driving under the influence of alcohol slows down reactions and in most countries, the penalty for this is great. It is fatal to drive under the influence because a small quantity is enough to make one loose control behind the wheels. Since they say prevention is better than cure, it is essential for drivers to adhere to this regulation in order to prevent road accidents and loss of human lives

                The consequences of road accidents over the years have proved to be very dire and devastating to victims and those affected. It leaves a lasting on many with bad aftermaths of road accidents such as loss of lives, amputation, regrets, financial breakdown and most of all everlasting pain. No solution of the problem no matter how much efficient and needed can erase the pain and help these individuals who have been affected greatly due to road accidents in one way or another.

             

Picture credit: graphiconline.com