Time to Implement 30km/PH in Built-up Areas

ROAD SAFETY ARTICLE

I do not know if you read the research findings from the United Kingdom which I shared on this page last week on the impact of speed reduction in built-up areas. This research underlines the importance of reducing vehicle speed to a maximum of 30mph in built-up areas as espoused by the United Nations.

Last week I shared the joint report of the work done by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank on road safety. Specifically, it notes that an increase in average speed is directly related both to the likelihood of a crash occurring and to the severity of the consequences of the crash. For example, every 1 percent increase in mean speed, it notes, produces a 4 percent increase in the fatal crash risk and a 3 percent increase in the serious crash risk.

I won’t bore you with the other details which can be found online for those interested. Now you can see the essence of the speed reduction strategy as espoused by the United Nations especially at built up areas. Today, I wish to bring you up to speed on how we have fared in Nigeria.

Let me start first with the situation during the just concluded Easter celebration. I won’t bore you with the total number of road traffic rashes but would rather dwell on four that messed up our strategies for the season. The first occurred at Ozalla, along the Enugu Port Harcourt road where 15 people were killed.

This was followed by another along the Enugu- Abakaliki road that claimed twelve lives as well as Garaku along the Abuja- Akwanga- Jos highway that claimed another 12 lives while in Ogoja, Cross River State, six lives were lost. Speed was at the heart of these crashes.

Following this trend, we have reviewed our strategies to checkmate the trend during the Sallah but these strategies will make the difference only with the buy-in of motorists. The report for the period is not exciting despite our efforts as our records show that there was an increase in the number of road traffic crashes as well as deaths recorded.

Meanwhile, the records provided by the Corps reveals that road traffic crash statistics from January to December, 2022 in Nigeria was 13656 which resulted in 6,456 deaths and 38930 injuries.

The causative factors were as follows with speed still topping the list with 6,578 speed induced road traffic crashes followed by use of phone while driving which accounted for 68 crashes,   as well as tyre burst which accounted for 915 crashes and loss of control which caused 3,646 reported crashes. Others include overloading 161, mechanically deficient vehicle 464, wrongful overtaking 807, dangerous driving 1042 and obstruction 139 road traffic crashes respectively.

A further breakdown of the reported crashes in 2022 reveals that the following states had the highest fatalities starting from Kaduna 288, FCT 258, Ogun 242, Oyo 195, Kano 164, Niger –159, Nasarawa 154, Bauchi 138 and Kogi 137. Of all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, the following had the highest number of deaths; Kaduna 680, FCT 403, Ogun 395, Niger 367, Kano 363, Bauchi 339.States with the highest number of injuries were; Kaduna 3158, FCT 3070, Ogun 2632, Nasarawa 2364, Niger 2071 and Jigawa 1877

The snippet of speed related crashes that I have given is not just peculiar to Nigeria but cuts across other parts of the globe, including the developed and low, as well as middle income countries especially Africa. I have treated excessive speed severally on this page. I have tried to remind people and road users of the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 which specifies the speed limits on various roads, as well as speed limits of various categories of vehicles.

For reminders, the Regulations provide that the maximum speed in Nigeria is 100km/h. The same Regulations stipulates that 100km/h is the maximum speed for cars on the express while the limit for taxis and buses is 90km/h. The speed limit for articulated vehicles is 60km/h.

The same Regulations provide for the appropriate speed limit for built- up areas which is my focus and also the focus for the Global road safety week. It provides a maximum speed limit of 50km/h for cars, taxis and buses as well, tankers and trailers are to do 45km/h while tow vehicles are 45km/h while towing and 50km/h when not towing.

While the provisions explicitly spell out these rules, there are concerns that compliance is a challenge while these signs, according to some observers, are rarely seen on some of our roads. The absence of appropriate road furniture was my concern when I wrote on a piece I titled, Naked Roads.

In fact, a good friend who heard me on AIT on Tuesday could not stop laughing when I drew a correlation between roads without appropriate road furniture and a lady without her makeup. This is why the global clamour is to rejig the speed factor and tilt the trend of road traffic crashes and deaths in keeping with the United Nations Decade of Action which seeks to cut down road fatalities by 50 percent.

I told you that ‘street for life’ was the theme when the nod for speed reduction was endorsed. The argument is that low speed streets where people and traffic mix makes for streets that are healthy, green and liveable and therefore saves lives. Low speed streets save lives and are the heart of any community. The global plan involves engaging policymakers to act for low speed streets worldwide, limiting speeds to 30 km/h for cities, towns and villages worldwide.  World leaders buy in on reduction of appropriate speed in built up areas has since been sought.

As we saw in the impact already created in the UK, there are certain myths and also facts behind this focus 30k km/h. First, the UN maintains that addressing the risk of death in road traffic is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically those affecting health security, sustainable cities, poverty, and reducing inequalities among and within countries. Policies that tackle the impact of road traffic, and create environments for safe, sustainable and inclusive transport options, also unlock action for protecting the climate and gender equality too.

The UN also maintains that paradigm shift in how streets are designed, starting with low speeds where people and traffic mix, makes streets safe, accessible, enjoyable and equitable for all road users. It delivers multiple benefits for all whilst accelerating action across interlinking SDGs. The actions include infrastructure, design, enforcement, vehicle technology and public awareness.

I told you there are some myths that, as a safety professional, I would say are unfounded and without any basis. Let us deal with these myths as spelt out by the United Nations. I must however state clearly that the views are not mine but are lifted up to share with my readers especially parents who should be concerned over the safety of vulnerable road users such as children, aged parents, and people with disabilities.