The Traffic lightsat
Tech junction near the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST) in Kumasi have not been functioning for the past three week leaving motorists
and pedestrians flummoxed as to whether who should move and who should stop.
This has downgraded the purpose for which these lights were
installed which includes, among others things, to help drivers avoid risks and
guide them to safe driving.
This is not the first time such a grave problem has occurred and
anytime this happens, it runs into months before the problem is fixed.
Tech junction is located near KNUST on
the main road with communities like Ayigya, Bomso, Ayeduase and others surrounding
it. It also has a trunk road linking the Central business district of Kumasi,
Kejetia, Adum among others to Accra, Cape Coast, Tamale and other big cities.
Apart from holding big trucks and
being busy all day, the Ayigya market as well as taxi and lorry station are
located around the stretch of the road. The KNUST primary, junior and Senior
High schools are also located in this area. What is more worrying is the fact
that some students cross the road with their younger siblings with little or no
caution.
The dense traffic problem leads to
snarl-ups at times when motorists, especially those with heavy truck take
advantage of the situation to over-speed and drive carelessly putting
pedestrian at risk, especially when it is murky. These motorists also stop for
pedestrians to cross the road at their own discretion.
The worsening faulty traffic lights
problems are tormenting as increasing malfunctioning of traffic signal lights
makes it difficult to regulate a smooth traffic flow on the busy road while
traffic sergeants are not in sight to control the movement of motorists and
pedestrians.
As some recalcitrant motorists who
habitually flout traffic laws, we should not create rooms for them to get a
version to substantiate their wrongs for not abiding by the prescribed rules.
In a country where traffic violations
are rampant and some of the systems are in shambles, the reluctance of
concerned officials to fix the problem is worrying.
As a country, we have embraced the
practice of hailing new things but we do not make efforts to maintain them. We
cannot sacrifice the life of an individual on this road on the altar of
negligence or inactions of some officials who are paid with the tax-payer’s
money to ensure that the lights are functioning.
It is as though we waiting for a
horrific accident to occur only to see a screaming headline like “Gory accident
at Tech junction” or even better, in the media the following day.
It is high time we kept the culture of
maintenance prime to our hearts to repair faulty traffic lights in the whole
country to keep them in working order.

Bright Habita
Focus Fm,
KNUST
brytbk2olein@yahoo.com