The Danger of Night Journey

Road Safety Article

I do not know if you followed last week’s media briefing by the helmsman of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Dauda Biu on the just concluded 2023 Operation Zero Tolerance campaign. If you did not, please allow me to wet your appetite with five critical avoidable landmark road traffic crashes which, according to him, defined the outcome of the number of road traffic fatalities recorded.

These five critical crashes were primarily caused by overloading of trailers with passengers, goods and animals, speed violations, and night trips which is my focus for this week . The first crash occurred on 23 December, 2023, at 1208HRS in Kwanar Malamawa, Jigawa State.It involved a collision between a Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Golf3 resulting in the death of 10 people.

On 25 December, 2023 at 0635HRS in Inisa, Osun State,  a lone crash that involved a Mitsubishi Canter resulting in the death of nine people occurred. This was followed on 01 January 2024 at 0135HRS in Kakia, Katsina State, by another lone crash involving a Peugeot J5 Bus which led to the death of nine people.

In the same vein, on 02 January, 2024 at 0450HRS in Aiyere, Kwara State, another DAF Trailer collided with a Hiace Bus leading to the death of eleven people, while on 03 January, 2024 at 1950HRS in Sabon Wuse, Niger State, a crash involving a DAF Trailer and a Hiace Bus led to the death of nineteen people.

These five crashes alone killed a total of 58 victims and all deaths were recorded as a result of night trips. This alone represents 17 percent of the total deaths recorded within the 2023 outing period. Meanwhile, the total fatalities recorded from 15 December 2023 to 15 January 2024 stood at a total of 335 deaths nationwide as against 350 recorded in the same period in 2022 which represents 4 percent reduction.  

What really is the reason for this suicide driven travel pattern that addicts maintain is cozy, cheap and also fun. Before I dwell on the reasons adduced by night journey addicts, let me first state here that as I write and reflect on the figures, my heart beats faster than ever. This is not death arising from terror attack nor militancy, not even from cult -gang clashes but from avoidable road traffic crashes.

Two years ago, this is how one of the online media reports captured it, ’’An auto accident on the Lagos-Ibadan highway caused the death of 30 people on Thursday night. The then spokesperson of the Corps, Bisi Kazeem, confirmed the incident when he said that the accident occurred at about 8 p.m. at Km 95 around the Elebolo Quary Area on the Ibadan axis of the road.

According to him, 10 other persons were injured in the crash involving 40 persons and two Mazda buses. “The crash occurred at a construction site, and it resulted from route and speed violations. “This crash underscored the then Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi’s advice to motorists to avoid night journeys, be careful around construction sites and drive within approved speed limits,”. It will interest you to know that rescue operations by FRSC officials, who arrived at the scene minutes after the incident, ended at 2:42 a.m. the next day which underscores the challenges of even rescue operations by the Corps.

I have written several times on this death wish yet the apostles of night travel keep canvassing reasons why they can never give up their free choice which cannot be restricted by law. This is because globally, there is no legislation anywhere in the world that prohibits night travel. However, the FRSC has mounted a consistent campaign against night travel. While the Corps appreciates the right of individuals in a democracy, the Corps in keeping with the peculiar Nigerian situation took its stand for several reasons, which in fact culminated in a series of workshops held with stakeholders to raise awareness on the dangers involved. While acknowledging the emergence of night travel due to the collapse of rail systems, prohibitive cost of air travel and inadequate inland waterways, the Commission however, took cognizance of the inherent road crash dangers and the need for caution among travelers.

Although few accidents occur at night like I highlighted in the 2023 data, heavier fatalities and casualty rate usually occur. But why is FRSC concerned about night travel? One of the obvious reasons is the fact that rescue operations are minimal and most often non-existent in the night. Presently, except for the FCT and other cities in the country, the FRSC team rarely does night patrols along major highways simply because of the dangers involved.

Remember that the outcome of a road crash for the victim in terms of their chances of survival and long-term prognosis is affected by the level of available medical care. Unfortunately, ambulance services are still epileptic and even rescue efforts are even complicated by the absence of health centers or even the attitude at most hospitals. Consequently, because access to emergency services is poor, death before arrival at the hospital is usually high. In many cases there is no availability of ambulances, and road crash victims rely on passersby for help. Lack of any medical interventions and long difficult journeys to hospitals reduces the chances of survival.

Visibility is another problem. Globally, it is recommended that improving the visibility of road users is one of the specific interventions that can yield good results. Seeing and been seeing are fundamental prerequisites for the safety of all road users and there are several ways of enhancing visibility. The use of extra reflectors on the vehicle or light reflective vests of the thin plastic material is also recommended by the United Nations and is contained in the National Road Traffic Regulation, 2004. Illuminating crosswalks, including the flood lighting of pedestrian crossing and increased illumination at crosswalks are also recommended strategies.

Unfortunately, FERMA, the lead Government agency charged with road maintenance, our road signs, and marking in terms of their shapes, colour and reflectivity do not meet international standards. The consequences is that driving is made more difficult and hazardous because of the absence of the appropriate road furniture to guide motorists at night and bad or poor weather. The result is the recourse by fleet operators to violate the provision of the traffic regulation by fixing extra lights, which has led to avoidable crashes and death. This is why FERMA opined that if maximum reflectivity is maintained in our pavement markings, signs and delineators, there would be an increase in night times and poor weather safety on our roads and ultimately fewer crashes, injuries and fatalities may be recorded. Retro-reflectivity is a critical element that has helped the US Department of Transport achieve its safety goals of reducing fatality by 20 percent.

Inadequate visibility because of environmental factors, which makes it hard to detect vehicles and other road users and poor eye sight of road users, are all listed as factors influencing crash involvement. All these are prevalent among night time operators.

Another factor is the excessive speed at which night buses drive. The National Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 is explicit in the speed limit of 90km/hr for buses and taxis on expressways. How many of such buses truly drive at 90km/hr, and how many of us really worry about such speeds even when some of these drivers do so under the influence of alcohol and even illegal drugs? Yet we delude ourselves that we can never be victims.