Crash!

Today I witnessed an accident. As I was driving to a designer in Tesano, a car hit a motorbike. What shocked all of us who were driving behind the accident, was the heart-wrenching scream from the motorbike rider. We could all feel the fear of losing life in his voice. It affected us all, so that everybody stopped, as if we were all scared that we had almost died. Annoyingly, the only one not to stop was the person driving the car that hit him, instead he quickly sped off into the distance.

Luckily the motorbike rider had been smart enough to let go of the bike and quickly gained balance onto his feet, so as to avoid being ripped and torn apart with his bike. We all watched in shock as the bike skidded and turned over, travelling about fifty meters before finally hitting a traffic light.

What a reminder of how quickly life can be taken away. And for me, the rest of the day has been spent thinking of my uncle whom I never met, since he was hit by a bus while on his bike, having his life instantly terminated at the tender age of 25.

Driving like crazy

Reckless driving has been the topic of the week. While having sushi on Wednesday, the Poetress described the car accident she was involved (and luckily unhurt) in close to Cape Coast last weekend. Yesterday, we witnessed a car accident opposite Shell and Golden Tulip. A car that had been swerving through the lanes, trying to get wherever as fast as possible, (or as we suspect, the two guys were trying to impress the two girls in the car), caught on to the back bumper of a truck in front of it, this caused the car to abruptly turn and flip, landing in a ditch on the side of the road.

From what we saw, it seemed as if the four people were not too badly injured, apparently one had a gushing wound but the others were ok (subject to internal bleedings of course) and they were all able to get out without assistance, but not much was left of the car. I would like to ask the driver whether it was worth it for the two minutes he would have saved going towards Tetteh Quarshie.

A few minutes ago, the actor Kwame Owusu-Ansah was confirmed dead after driving into a truck that had apparently parked in the slow lane on the motorway to Tema last night. I had never heard of him but apparently he is a well known actor.

As someone who drives on the motorway every day, (have already been back and forth on it today) and often sees trucks driving at 30km/h without any lights at all (and for those who don't know, there are still NO STREET LIGHTS on the motorway), I know that his accident and death could easily happen to anyone at any time.

I can't help but wonder when something concrete is going to be done to reduce the amount of reckless driving and accidents on our streets. When will streetlights on a motorway with an average speed of 100-120 km/h be prioritised over flower gardens at Danquah Circle, Cantonments roundabout and other places? When will policemen stop the taxis and trotros that cross over to drive against traffic on the dirt patch by El Wak stadium (as witnessed a few hours ago) instead of looking for bribes from the ex-pats in huge 4x4s?

When will we have anything other than prayer, faith or luck to protect us on a drive anywhere at anytime???

A lawyer's power

Monday morning did not start off well. After leaving the gym, as I did a right turn which I had indicated for quite a while, slowed down for two bicycles to ensure I didn’t hit them, a third bike rider who was obviously in his own world, rode right into the back of my car. Luckily he wasn’t injured and got right up and continued riding. I wasn’t amused and my gut feeling told me today felt like a day for a car accident. I said a little prayer (dear God, please let me get to work safely) and continued driving to work. As I took the right turn after passing Ridge Circle, I breathed a sigh of relief, I had made it...or so I thought. Just as I passed the exit of the car park I felt my car turn to the side, as a person leaving the car park (I had seen him, but didn’t realised he would drive with his eyes closed (after all, what other reason could there be?)) hit the back of Roger.

Luckily for me, he was a driver of one of the top guys in the bank in our building so I wouldn’t have to worry about him driving off. After I had told him off for his reckless driving, we went to his boss’ office to discuss the accident and what would follow.

What made me laugh was that the first thing his boss (who I often meet and greet at the entrance of our building and in the lift) said after hearing what had happened was:

“Oh, how could you hit her car? Don’t you know she’s a lawyer?!”

It so perfectly summed up the respect/fear that people have of lawyers in Ghana!

Now what awaits is sorting out the buckle and spraying Roger, which has all been delayed because of my extra long dental appointment yesterday and not being in the office today. The bank guy has since Monday made sure he calls often enough and even stops by the office to make sure I am still happy and not concerned about the delay in fixing the car. Naturally, he ends every conversation with: “So madam, we are ok? Please don’t send us any legal letters.”