Before coming to Ghana, I read warnings online about the dangers of driving in Ghana due to the high percentage of drivers who purchase drivers licenses.
Which is why I was so relieved when Echohouse offered me a car and a driver for the duration of my stay here.
I have never been scared of driving, in fact, I love driving. A long road-trip is one of my favourite things!
But if South Africans are (notoriously) bad drivers.
Anyone who has driven from Cape Town to Hogsback (or anywhere in the Eastern Cape), will know just exactly how (notoriously) bad.
And if Ghanaians are worse, then I am afraid. I am very afraid.
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Turns out Ghanaians are not bad drivers.
The opposite, in fact: Ghanaians are very (very) skilled drivers. I have never seen driving like this before:
1. It is fast, yet not reckless.
When you want to change lanes you do so, in the same way, you paddle for a large, steep wave – fast, with commitment and without hesitation.
Not for the faint-hearted though! (Ghanaian driving. Not surfing.) But once you get used to it, it is like being inside a PlayStation game.
2. It is creative, yet not irrational.
When you approach any corner or any pedestrian you hoot. A short, friendly little hoot, then everyone knows you are approaching.
But above all, it is not aggressive.
Which is, I have come to realise, why so many things are good in Ghana – Ghanaians lack the one thing South Africans have a too much of. Aggression.
Don’t make a mistake. I am not saying Ghanaians lack passion. They have tons of passion (remind me to add a clip here of the Echohouse team discussing soccer during our pitch meeting), but way less aggression.
Which, I believe is the main reason I have not seen or heard signs of one traffic accident, and I have been here 17 days. On the N1, N2, and M3 in Cape Town, there would probably be an accident in the time it took me to finish this post!
I still would not drive here, though. As the foremost expert in wave hesitation, I would ruin the entire Playstation game!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ed9fai7ijoifigc/Day%2316_Richard_In_Action.MOV?dl=0