MOTORCYCLES: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

Growing up I loved motorcycles – shiny gleaming sleek machines that could accelerate from 0 to 100kmh in less than twenty seconds, eating up the road, zigzagging through traffic and places vehicles couldn’t navigate. Even more alluring was seeing a lady in black leather jackets with boots striding confidently across a street, putting on her helmet, mount her bike leaving a trail of dust behind… Then again I had been watching too many movies. Back then I remember telling myself someday I would buy a motorcycle.

Today I have no desire to even step on the shadow of one and hearing the rev of a motorcycle engine gets me jumpy. There is nothing inherently wrong with people using motorcycles as a means of transport but in Ghana they symbolize death and injury in my opinion. My description of them might sound exaggerated but a trip to the accident center of our major hospitals would give one a clear picture of what I am trying to convey.

An increase in urban population with its attendant traffic congestion have made the use of motorcycles as a means of transport even more desirable. However, the surge in individual ownership over the past five years has left in its wake an unfortunate increase in motorcycle related accidents.

The impunity with which people ride in town leaves me with the impression that maybe some people believe that like cats, they have nine lives after all. Motorcycle riders leave in a world of their own; the road is theirs to conquer and every other road user is just a nuisance. They jump red lights, cross haphazardly into other lanes and ride on the shoulders of the road without acknowledging the fact that there are pedestrians using the roads as well! It is not uncommon these days to be crossing a road and out of the blue have a motorcycle right in your face almost about to knock you down.

I have had three unpleasant encounters in that regard whilst crossing a road and had it not been for the timely intervention of other pedestrians I would have been nursing some nasty if not life threatening injuries. It’s even more disheartening when children, sometimes on their way to school, are caught in the middle of the madness of some of these inconsiderate cyclists. Even in vehicles children are either strapped in their car-seats or buckled up in seat-belts so I find it puzzling when children are transported on motorcycles without a protective helmet.
Why anyone would want to ride without a protective helmet just beats my mind. In the event of an accident the helmet gives protection to the head and in effect could greatly reduce the chances of a brain injury.

Another worrying trend is the commercial use of motorcycles as a means of public transport. How this started I cannot fathom. All I know is Accra woke up one day to find its inhabitants on two wheels without a helmet clinging to riders as they maneuvered their way through traffic. Justification of this practice has not been hidden with a Member of Parliament only stopping short of giving his approval, saying that it serves as an employment opportunity for the youth and a solution to the difficult traffic situation in the city. Well, what do I know?

This ‘okada’ business (a term imported from Nigeria where motorcycles form a large part of the public transport sector) has replicated itself in other towns and remote villages in our country where road networks are horrible or non-existent. Some even serve as an ‘ambulance’ during health emergencies in some of these remote places in accessing health posts/centers. Indeed, most public health personnel and agriculture extension workers actively rely on motorcycles in their day to day affairs so hey, they could be a necessary ‘evil’ but can some sanity prevail in how they are used on our roads?
No means of transport is safe and we would all die of one thing or the other someday but a ride on a motorcycle? Please spare me that.