- Bus drivers around the country should follow strict safety standards to avert fatal crashes
Given the virtual absence of a modern and efficient rail transport network to link diverse parts of Nigeria’s sprawling territory, the non-existence of a water transportation system in any meaningful sense of the word and an ailing, largely unaffordable as well as precarious aviation sector, it is not surprising that road transportation is the most common means of moving people and goods across the country.
Against the background of an incredibly poor road infrastructure throughout the length and breadth of the country, a situation worsened by a dangerous driving culture and deplorable vehicle maintenance habits, it is also inevitable that road accidents, according to the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) is the second highest source of death in Nigeria after the now severely weakened Boko Haram insurgency.
Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that one out of every four road accidents in Africa occur in Nigeria, making her roads one of the most dangerous on the continent. The grim data on road accident fatalities in Nigeria reveal that they cost a total of 30,435 casualties between 2009 and 2013. This does not include the 183, 531 persons injured in road mishaps on Nigerian roads within the same period. While the country recorded 5,400 deaths from 12, 077 road crashes in 2015, this figure had witnessed a reduction of nearly 15% in road crashes and 25% in fatality rate to 4,005 deaths in 7, 657 crashes on our roads nationwide as at the end of week of 47 of 2016.
Although accurate statistics are not available, transport authorities have observed that a sizable number of these fatal road accidents in Nigeria occur during night trips and the reasons should not be difficult to fathom. The factors responsible for road accidents in the country include poor, narrow and badly lit roads littered with pot holes, dangerous driving, poorly maintained vehicles and insecurity. All these problems are accentuated at night as a result of poor visibility, which make drivers prone to fatal mistakes. Again, most drivers are tempted at night to resort to intoxicating, disorienting and ultimately futile concoctions to ward of fatigue caused by driving for several hours without rest.
In a similar vein, drivers are more likely to overload their vehicles, contravene road rules and exceed speed limits at night all in a bid to maximize their profit margins. They seek to take advantage in this regard of the paucity of traffic control and law enforcement agents on the roads at night. And it only stands to reason that criminal elements, including armed robbers and kidnappers, find it easier to take advantage of the cover of darkness to perpetrate their atrocities on our highways.
We commend the efforts of the present administration in stepping up the rehabilitation of long neglected highways as well as continuing with its predecessor’ s plans for modern rail transport in different parts of the country. This will address the problems of safe and efficient road transportation in the medium to long term. In the short run, however, we urge the relevant authorities to take immediate steps to immediately upgrade, regulate and more effectively supervise night trips.
This will involve ensuring that drivers are medically and mentally fit to undertake trips, that they are not visually impaired and that they do not drive for more than a specified number of miles before handing over to fresh and well-rested replacements on their routes. Equally important is the need for conducive, functional and safe rest areas on night routes for the convenience of drivers and passengers. It is equally critical for the FRSC to engage in intensive public enlightenment campaigns at least for now to discourage people from setting forth on night trips except for absolutely unavoidable reasons.
