Let Us Check These Anomalies

Last week, a married woman and others met their untimely deaths in a taxi cab when a truck drove into their vehicle at a traffic intersection on the George Bush Highway, a little after midnight. It was an addition to the already-scary statistics of fatalities on that highway and vehicular accidents in general in the country. We are told that the accident occurred because the traffic lights on both sides were at that time of night blinking amber � a suggestion that drivers should use their discretion to avoid accidents when they get to such locations. Traffic lights automatically change to the amber mode at that time of night for security reasons. Robbers easily take advantage of motorists who stop at that time of night to rob them. Many motorists have complained about the dangers posed by the amber mode of traffic lights at night because of the likelihood of the kind of accidents which claimed the lives of the passengers on the George Bush Highway last week. It is our suggestion that something be done about the traffic lights at this time of the night. Drivers should be educated about the need to be careful when they reach traffic intersections and when the lights are in the amber mode. Where there have been many accidents as a result of the amber mode, the possibility of allowing the traffic lights to work normally could be an option. This could be observed for a while to determine the results for possible review. There are other challenges on our urban roads which need the attention of the authorities. It is sometimes difficult to observe oncoming traffic on the left hand side of the roads in urban centres because of obstructions created by the reckless location of kiosks and other structures. When these happen, motorists are compelled to risk driving onto the road, leaving everything to fate. We ask that obstructive structures such as pointed out in the preceding paragraph are removed forcefully when their owners refuse to cooperate with city authorities because of the danger they pose to motorists. Anything which threatens life on our roads should not be countenanced no matter who is responsible for the placements of such objects. We were elated when last week the National Chief Imam Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu joined the anti-indiscipline campaign on our roads during his courtesy call on the Inspector General of Police at his office. The cleric told the IGP to deal with unruly youth who ride motorbikes dangerously as part of corteges on their way to cemeteries � a request we associate ourselves with. Unruliness when dead Muslims are being conveyed to cemeteries in Accra for burial has become so common that for some non-Muslims, erroneously though, it is an accepted feature of the faith.