Time to Throw the Gauntlet

Road Safety Article

I do not know if you are as worried as I am over the spate of deaths on our roads. I also do not know if you share my thoughts that we need to do something different to deter reckless drivers. My concern over these deaths prompted me to open the curtain on the need for us to nail these sets of road users.

Last week I shared with you how I struggled to catch the attention of my learned friends to solve the poser thrown at me over this subject. In the piece, I equally shared my wish to reach my friends and legal pals to take me through some legal tutoring on the intricacies involved in court trials as it affects traffic infractions that claim lives.

Why is it difficult or impossible to convict? Or why the snail speed in convicting such drivers. Why must a driver who caused the death of others not be slammed behind bars and in addition, have his driver’s licence withdrawn, was the poser thrown at me by Martins.

In the absence of my legal friend, I reached out to another whose views I admire and popped the million-dollar question on the difficulty in convicting killer drivers. Why is it difficult to secure conviction in Nigeria in cases where death results from dangerous/unsafe driving practices, I asked? Before you get excited that you now have the opportunity for a pro bono under my watch, kindly note that these views were provided by him during my legal lessons, 101 class. He began by stating that it is the law that traffic offences generally speaking are strict liability offences.

However, there are exceptions as can be seen from the Nigerian Evidence Act as regards speeding offences that require corroboration and some other such offences viewed as more serious traffic offences. More so, trials in cases where death result from dangerous driving or other unsafe driving practices even though are charged under the various road traffic laws or the FRSC Act, depending on the prosecuting agency, the standard and burden of proof are usually as high as it is in ” CRIMINAL TRIALS”. It is to be noted that there is this distinction without a difference wherein traffic offences are viewed from the prism of quasi criminal matters.

The courts, he continued, have held severally that there are ingredients that must be established in cases of death occasioned by dangerous or unsafe driving. But to address the main issue raised above frontally, it is safe to say that the major militating factors include, but are not limited to poor crash investigation and evidence gathering/preservation, poor or outright lack of data or driver’s driving history/vehicle maintenance history- the laws provide for statutory returns that must be made to the various regulatory agencies but are sadly mostly observed in the breach.

Others include poor prosecutorial skills, wherein most cases are prosecuted at the Magistrate Court by non-lawyers thereby giving room for defence lawyers who are vaster in the knowledge and application of law to exploit such loopholes to the advantage of a defendant. He concluded by stating that want or dearth of expert evidence during such trials among others are critical hiccups. Further to the above, he said that the prosecution must prove that the following; that the defendant’s manner of driving was reckless or dangerous and also that the substantial cause of death is attributed to the defendant’s reckless or dangerous driving and lastly that the crash occurred on a Federal Highway (if charge is brought under the Federal Highway Act)

In particular reference to the FRSC, the powers to prosecute drivers who cause death by dangerous driving is specifically provided for in section 20 thereof which prescribes a prison term of not less than one year but not exceeding seven years.

While all these turenchi has further confused me, I think I should quit the class and focus on how to navigate the herculean task of checking increasing infractions such as excessive speeding, dangerous driving, night journey which is resurging as well as driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages and drugs

My first focus is on how to check excessive speeding which is a key causative factor. For years-on-end, speed- related crashes constitute the single most significant cause of road traffic crashes in Nigeria. Therefore our focus is to improve on the arrest of deviants which is why on December 15, 2023, we commenced one of our trademark patrol strategies; mobile speed patrol to checkmate excessive speeding.

This strategy is targeting Lagos Ibadan, Abuja Kaduna and Kaduna Kano. The focus here is to police speed freaks as well as those who indulge in driving under the influence. Laser speed guns and body- warm cameras were equally deployed to enhance this enforcement. This patrol compliments other patrol strategies focusing on checkmating unlicensed drivers, overloading, traffic light and use of phone while driving infractions.

To hit our target, radar guns, patrol bikes, alcolizers, and other patrol equipment have been deployed for the enforcement of speed violations, drunk –driving. This is in line with achieving the Corps primary mandate of crash reduction and attainment of the target of 5% crash reduction as contained in the FRSC Corporate Strategic Goals.

We hope to collaborate with armed-security agencies if and when necessary to achieve maximum results. A component of the enforcement will be re-strategizing on the enforcement of compulsory installation of speed limiting devices in commercial vehicles as directed by the Management of the Corps.

Meanwhile, the one that gladdens my heart is the robust collaboration that has been midwifed by the Corps and the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association. This partnership I believe will fast-track the prosecution of reckless and killer drivers on our highways. As I write I just received the news of one of our operatives knocked down by a driver. The driver I was told did not even stop to attend to the injured operative. Such drivers are the type we have chosen to throw down the gauntlet at killer drivers.