Some commuters in Tema community 5 in the Tema Metropolis have complained about the authorities’ failure to repair malfunctioning traffic lights at major intersections in the area, particularly the traffic lights a few metres east of the Tema General Hospital.

Residents complain that all of the traffic lights at the intersection have been out of commission for more than three months, and attempts to get authorities to fix them have been futile.

When Citi News visited the area, drivers were seen driving quickly.

“The traffic lights have not been working and due to that some of the drivers when they get to the intersection there is this confusion as to which driver should wait for the other to move. And this mostly leads to accidents”, Daniel Asare, a commuter said.

The intersection is the busiest in the area because it is served by four major roads. It is also close to churches and schools.

Because drivers rarely stop for pedestrians, the lack of functioning traffic lights at the intersection has made it increasingly difficult for commuters to cross the road.

Church members and students at these institutions have lamented the ordeal of crossing the street.

Maxwell Tetteh is the administrator of the First Baptist Church and School in Tema, Community 5.

For him, they are forced to rely on the services of others in order for their students and church members to cross the road safely.

“The traffic light is not far from our entrance and sometimes when one person is not cautious enough as a driver giving way to the other, then you can see a long stretch just trying to enter the main street. Occasionally, the student finds it difficult in crossing the road, so we are forced to hire security men to guard the children to cross the road. But the main issue is that during the peak hours, one will see vehicles moving swiftly and this in a lot of cases cause accidents”.

He added that there have been numerous accidents at the intersection, necessitating authorities to act quickly to repair the lights.

According to the National Road Safety Commission, broken traffic lights are a major cause of road accidents and traffic congestion in various parts of Accra.