I’ve never had an encounter with another car while I was driving where I was either honked at or felt it was necessary to honk, and hope I will never be compelled to. In America when someone honks at you, you know you made a bad move. People become infuriated when they’re honked at because they feel they haven’t done anything wrong. So when we first arrived in Ghana I was shocked at how reliant drivers were on their horns. I quickly learned that it was standard to not go a minute without hearing someone honk.

From what I’ve observed, there are numerous reasons as to why Ghanaians honk. First of all, there are barely any street lines guiding the flow of traffic, and there are rarely any speed limits specified. Therefore, as you can imagine, there are some crazy drivers out there. It’s standard to see drivers pass slower drivers on a very busy two way street. The faster car that’s trying to pass the slower car will forewarn the slower car with a little toot of his horn, cautioning the driver that there is someone on his left. Honking is a way that Ghanaian drivers let each other know they are approaching.

People also honk when they see someone they know, instead of a friendly wave. They like to lay one on their horns. Whenever I’m on the tro-tro or in the taxi and hear the sound of a horn, I still experience the shock and sudden loss of breath, fearing that I’m about get in a terrible accident.

This technique is very culturally distinct from what we are used to in the United States, but I have to say without the honking there would probably be a lot more accidents here. It may be smart, but hopefully this observation doesn’t become something I feel accustomed to once I’m back home. If so, watch out Eugene, here comes road rage Bagwell!