Manasseh Azure Awuni  writes: Someone must challenge Traffitech in court

For instance, where there’s a school, the speed limit is 30 km/h. He went on to say that not knowing there is a school there is no excuse.

But why should you impose a speed limit when motorists cannot tell where it applies? Are we magicians?

I drove in the US for nearly three years. There, road signs and regulations abound in inter-city areas and on the highways. And because they are clearly marked, the maps on your phone tell you the speed limit, not just directions.

When you’re approaching a school, you see visible signs that indicate you’re approaching a school and the allowable speed limit. In some cases, when you’re leaving the school environment, you are again notified.

Here, we still go by the cliché that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Sometimes it can be. In Accra, the only time you sometimes realise you’ve driven into a one-way street is when someone shouts, “One-way, kwasia buulu!”

Not all schools have signposts. And motorists are not magicians who can sniff out all the different traffic requirements at different places.

If the aim of Traffitech is to keep our roads safe and not to spring surprises on motorists and make money, the state should help drivers to know where and what regulation applies.

The lanes on our roads should be clearly marked. Speed limits should be clearly indicated. Roads with speed cameras should be labelled, and drivers should be warned. City authorities should reduce commercial, church and funeral billboards that obstruct drivers’ vision, sometimes from traffic lights, and replace them with adequate road signs.

The driver has a responsibility, and so does the state. If the state fails, the driver should not be punished for that failure. Maybe a court should be able to tell whether it is fair to expect someone to adhere to a speed limit near a school when you have not told that person about the existence of a school.