Page 30 - Obruni In Ghana | Amber Lockridge

28 EPISODE 3: A FEW NOTES ON TRANSPORTATION
truth is, there aren’t a lot of them. You’ll see no flashing squad cars or hear shrill sirens chasing down an errant speeder.
There are regular police checkpoints but most Ghanaians have the system worked out pretty well. I’ve personally heard of overloaded taxis which stop before a checkpoint, let out excess passengers, and meet them ten minutes later on the other side. Another technique is to convince the officer that you all absolutely have to travel in one taxi since only one of you knows the way. However, if you simply must come down to terms with an unforgiving cop, fall back on the old standby: lie with charm and don’t be afraid to break out your wallet.
The following “hypothetical” situation will demonstrate my point. Say you and a group of your exchange student friends are heading to Frankie’s for some ice cream in downtown Accra. The taxi limit is four people per car but your party consists of five AFS-ers and one Ghanaian. You’ve all been around for a while now and you could easily take two cars but you and your friends are too cheap. Therefore,