Driving into roundabouts becoming dangerous; does the regulation say free for all to enter?

Has anything changed with driving instructions since some five decades ago when some of us enrolled in driving school to learn how to drive? Have the “curriculum” of those days and the booklets one bought to learn driving regulations been abandoned?

I was in the final year of my education at the University of Ghana and my father’s surprise for me was a paid-for registration with a driving school. I welcomed it with pride and went through the six weeks or so lessons with much passion.

After nearly 50 years of passing the then-must-have driving test and being issued a driver’s licence to boldly go on the road, I am beginning lately to wonder these days whether driving schools teach and insist on the expected road regulations one went through.

I have become skittish about whether the “Give Way” principle on the road, especially at roundabouts is being taught at all and to the letter.

Driving lessons

Or maybe, the most legitimate question to ask is whether drivers on our roads lately have gone through formal driving lessons, have studied road signs and regulations, and have taken driving tests and passed before being certified as drivers with the requisite licence to ply the road.

I am beginning to cower these days and have started to cultivate the attitude of slowing down anytime I approach a roundabout when driving. This is irrespective of the fact that I know I have the right of way once in the circle.

I refuse to take for granted that the unwritten regulation especially at “Give Ways” that some of us knew years gone by is still in place. At the back of my mind, I also ask myself whether the give way principle has been rewritten and the instruction now is rather “Free for all”. This is based on some experiences I have encountered.

The other day, right in front of me, a fully loaded charcoal truck with someone sitting on the heaped sacks of charcoal failed to give way and drove with haste into a roundabout almost knocking off a private vehicle that was in the right of way.

It could have been a big misadventure not only for the occupants of the private vehicle but also for the young man who was sitting on the heap of packed sacks of charcoal.

That near accident drew my attention to something I had not given much thought to, that is, how our roundabouts have fast become “survival of the fittest” rather than the expected “Give Way To Traffic On Your Left”.

My conscious observation over the last three weeks points to gross disabuse of traffic regulations at roundabouts.  It has almost become like a free-for-all, so a lot of drivers are literally forcefully jumping into the circle with the kind of speed that any challenger to the right-of-way principle would stand at risk of.

With this kind of open attitude by some drivers, is it a case that those drivers do not know their driving regulations? The danger is that it is not only some category of motor vehicle drivers who are forcing their way with little or no regard for regulations, motorcyclists are doing it, the worst culprits, one would say.

They tend to use the road with their own set of regulations, causing damage and havoc to law abiders.  They ply their trade with the safety of other road users thrown to the dogs.  Do they ever go through any formal riding lessons and tests?

Maybe driving instructors are not emphasising the seeming natural slow-down regulation effect that roundabouts present us.

In view of the rush drivers of all categories are employing, the Ghana Road Safety Authority may need to step in with more education and refreshers, particularly on the use of roundabouts.

Very soon, no doubt, as we approach the end of the year, the Authority will be coming out with their road user tips and safety education and guides. One would like to see more emphasis on how drivers should conduct themselves in a roundabout.

Since the education on respecting traffic lights and more so with warnings of implanted secret cameras to capture drivers who jump the red lights, one has seen some decency in that direction.

Traffic lights are regulating driver movements on the roads, giving all users, some respite (law and safety).  But even much better with a guarantee of no breakdown or power cuts are roundabouts and drivers should learn to abide by them.

Drivers, including motorbike riders, should be reminded and encouraged to approach with care and respect and give way to drivers already in the circle. The last time I checked, it was never a free-for-all approach.

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The writer can be contacted via the email address at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com