When we talk about the cost of poor roads in Ghana, we usually think about damaged vehicles, increased fuel consumption, traffic congestion, accidents and the money required for repairs.
But there is another cost that is rarely discussed: the cognitive tax imposed on road users.
Driving in Ghana, particularly in busy urban areas such as Accra, requires more than knowing how to operate a vehicle.
It requires a remarkable level of concentration, anticipation and environmental awareness.
A driver must remember where the deep potholes are, which sections of the road become flooded during heavy rain, where erosion leaves heaps of sand, which humps are poorly marked and where road surfaces suddenly become rough or uneven.
The experienced Ghanaian driver develops what could be called street sense.
You learn to recognise the dangerous-looking patch of asphalt that may actually conceal a deep pothole.
You learn which roadside puddles may be harmless and which ones could hide a crater.
You slow down before a particular bend because you know pedestrians, motorcycles or vehicles may suddenly appear.
During the rainy season, you become especially alert because familiar roads can transform within minutes.
This issue is even heightened at night on our poorly lit streets when we have to turn into bats or face the consequences.
All of this requires brainpower.
The problem is not that drivers should not be attentive.
Safe driving naturally requires concentration.
The concern is when poor infrastructure forces people to spend excessive mental energy compensating for avoidable environmental hazards.
Imagine the brain as having a limited daily budget for attention and decision-making.
Ideally, some of that mental capacity should be available for productive work, creativity, learning, problem-solving and meaningful interaction with others.
Yet, a significant portion may already have been consumed by simply navigating the physical environment.
Consider a professional driving through Accra or even Takoradi on a working day.
Before arriving at the office, that person may have spent an hour negotiating potholes, avoiding careless road users, watching for open drains, anticipating sudden lane changes and determining whether a flooded section is passable.
The body may arrive at the destination, but the brain has already been working hard.
This is a cognitive tax.
And the tax is not paid only by drivers. Pedestrians must constantly monitor traffic because pavements may be unavailable or obstructed.
Motorcyclists must anticipate dangerous road surfaces.
Cyclists must negotiate roads designed primarily around motor vehicles.
Even passengers experience the anxiety of unpredictable traffic and road conditions.
The consequences extend beyond inconvenience.
Constant vigilance can contribute to mental fatigue, irritability and reduced attention. In a country where people already face demanding professional, family and economic responsibilities, unnecessary cognitive demands on the population should concern us.
This is why road infrastructure should be understood not merely as a transportation issue but as a human productivity issue.
A well-designed road reduces uncertainty.
Brightly lit, clear markings, functioning drainage, proper pedestrian infrastructure, predictable road surfaces, adequately marked humps and timely repairs allow road users to devote less attention to anticipating hazards and more attention to their actual journeys.
Good infrastructure does something profound: it gives some brainpower back to the people.
Ghana’s development, therefore, should not be measured only by the number of kilometres of roads constructed.
We should also ask whether those roads make life cognitively easier, safer and more predictable for the people who use them every day.
Our brains are among our most valuable national resources.
We should not continually require them to compensate for problems that good planning and maintenance can prevent.
Perhaps it is time to recognise another hidden cost of poor roads in Ghana - not only the damage they cause to vehicles, but the cognitive tax they impose on citizens every single day.
The writer is a Child development expert/Fellow of the Zero-To-Three Academy, USA.
E-mail:
