It was in April this year that the Minister of Transport held a stakeholder consultation in Accra and laid bare information about a new legislative instrument with tighter operational measures concerning the operations of commercial motorcycle operations, commonly referred to as okada.
The Minister referred to the legislative instrument, LI 2180, saying the government was going to introduce a new licensing regime to enhance the monitoring of commercial motorcycles and tricycles and ensure operators met the necessary competency standards required. Call it resetting the agenda, and you may not be far from it.
Subsequent to that, a few months ago, some official of the National Roads Safety Commission (NRSC) also informed us that in line with the President’s beautiful reset agenda for the people of Ghana, commercial motorcycle operation was being re-organised to bind operators and get them to operate within the laws and regulations of the trade.
Some of us who have been direct or indirect victims of the lawlessness of Okada riders clapped with joy, for the time indeed was now for some decency to be brought to bear on Okada riders who had completely descended into the realms of indiscipline on our roads.
Reset agenda
But where are we now with the reset agenda, as it seems the impunities of Okada riders have got out of hand. When the Minister of Transport held his stakeholder engagement, he made it understand that “the government’s utmost priority is the safety and welfare of the riders and passengers”. The picture on our roads today seems contrary to that assertion. Indeed, more than ever, the safety of all other road users is a worry as long as these operators remain freely on our roads.
Okada numbers have multiplied as if heaven has broken loose. Their recklessness is at its highest. Has their reset taken a U-turn, with a re-energised and emboldened agenda like never before?
Have the doors of the commercial motorbike business been widely opened to the extent that it has now become a business line for all and sundry? Roads in cities like Accra are already choked with vehicular movements, so adding the menace of Okada with no regard for road safety regulations makes it a nightmare to be driving on these same roads.
Now in a traffic standstill, one sees so many of them whisk past using the very little spaces that are left between vehicles, not in one line but in two lines – one in the lane under a driver’s left driving mirror and another close to the right driving mirror.
Ambush
One sometimes feels ambushed. Scratches on our vehicles and even sometimes, knocked-down driving mirrors occur as they hurry on to escape a driver’s fury. Meanwhile, their rush through the traffic puts their own lives in danger. Just last week, on the George Bush Highway, an Okada rider riding very close in between two moving vehicles lost balance and, in the process, he banged his head heavily on the side of a slow-moving vehicle to his left. His luck was that he had a helmet on; otherwise, it could have been a very nasty accident.
Whether it is part of the reset process, these days they congregate at road intersections where police traffic wardens are, waiting for business. Perhaps trying to imitate what some area taxis do, they, too, are slowly building up Okada ranks.
Sadly, even in the clear view of the police, these individual riders disregard order and park anyhow, sometimes on pavements, and thus blocking road access by pedestrians. There is no order.
Not only are they continually making driving on our roads a chore, but their operation in general has made driving in areas where they operate in their numbers so intimidating and dangerous for any careful driver.
As for running through the red lights and opposite directions, it has become part of their game, police or no police watch.
Until the LI comes into force and a new licensing regime to enhance the monitoring of Okada operations is unveiled, may the authorities be reminded that the Okada business is multiplying by the day, and so are the risks they pose to law-abiding drivers on the road. Their reset is long overdue, especially for the new ones who have recently joined the bandwagon. One can tell them by their moves in traffic. They think they know, but they do not know.
Their increasing numbers and unruly behaviours on our roads are disturbing our peace and our focus on the roads. Okada is a regression by every standard. They take a lot away from decency on the roads with their behaviour.
If the reset is to have them fall in line through regulation, then the earlier the better. Hopefully, if strictly enforced, the LI should make life more bearable on the road as every user falls in their lane. One fervently prays for that day.
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The writer can be contacted via email: vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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