Another Black Sunday Night

Road Safety Article

Sunday 18th September, 2022 was a black Sunday. On that day, there was a fatal crash involving three vehicles. Out of 31 people involved,19 people were burnt beyond recognition. The crash occurred at about 0040 hours around the National Agricultural Seeds Council, Pai Junction along Yangoji – Gwagwalada route in the Federal Capital Territory.

Three vehicles; a trailer and two buses were involved in the crash believed to have been caused by excessive speeding and wrongful overtaking which resulted in loss of control. Like I said in my opening, the crash occurred at night.

Almost 19 months after the 2022 crash, the nation witnessed yet another black Sunday. The crash killed 19 people too. Please permit me to dwell on   the Osogbo tragedy. Like most fatal road traffic crashes, this crash was unfortunate, avoidable and if you kindly permit me, another demonstration of crass irresponsible driving which we witness daily on our roads.

As I said in one of my pieces, this and other crashes occurred because of passivity on the part of commuters. Often commuters are accused of indulging in bad driving Now to the details of the fatality. As I said earlier, the fatal crash claimed 19 lives. It occurred on God’s holy Sunday, 14 April, 2024.

The route was the Oyo – Ogbomoso route. The time was at 0745HRS. The causative factor as at the time of the incident was route violation referred to in local parlance as ‘One Way’ or driving against traffic. This dastardly traffic infraction resulted in a head-on collision and fire outbreak.

The date of the crash was the last day of the Corps Sallah patrol. From the commencement of the special operations, all seemed quiet. Few road traffic crashes. Mostly minor and serious crashes. I can boldly tell you that as the spokesperson for the Corps, I was already warming up; rolled the red carpets; beat the African drums to celebrate an almost zero death Salah patrols.

The helmsman at the Federal Road Safety Corps and my boss, Dauda Ali Biu, spoiled my celebration when he forwarded the crash report for publication. I had to suspend the African drum beats. Investigation   regarding the crash indicates that it involved a total of 2 vehicles; a Toyota Hiace Bus registered as NTT52ZY loaded from Ibadan en- route to Sokoto, and a Toyota Corolla saloon car.

The report also revealed that the crash was caused by route violation involving 20 people, all male adults. Out of this number, 19 persons were killed and burnt. The only surviving victim was rescued by FRSC operatives with injuries.

Like I wrote earlier, this crash is like a rehash of the 2022 crash that claimed the same number who were also burnt beyond recognition. The crash in question occurred on Sunday 18th September, 2022 which was tagged a black Sunday.

In the lexicon of the Federal Road Safety Corps, September falls within the EMBER months. And the EMBER months is a season of heightened road safety awareness campaigns to address growing attitudinal problems compounded by increased motorization?

It is a season when we preach the highest level of safety precautions as a strategy to checkmate avoidable road traffic crashes. The September 18 crash was therefore not a surprise because of the penchant of some to travel at night. It was a sad day indeed for the nation and residents of the Federal Capital Territory.

On that day, residents of the Federal Capital Territory woke up to sad news. The news was the death of 19people out of thirty-one people involved burnt beyond recognition. It occurred at about 0040 hours on Sun 18 Sep, 2022 around the National Agricultural Seeds Council, Pai Junction along Yangoji – Gwagwalada route in the Federal Capital Territory.

Three vehicles; a trailer and two buses were involved in the crash believed to have been caused by excessive speeding and wrongful overtaking which resulted in loss of control. The first vehicle was a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number MUB 30 LG. The second was a Citroen Trailer with registration number DWR 985 XJ while the third vehicle, a Toyota Hiace bus had the registration number melted in the inferno that ensued as a result of the crash.

According to operatives of the Corps and the Nigerian Police Force that conducted the rescue operation, the corpses were burnt beyond recognition and were mass buried while the injured were conveyed to Rhema Hospital, Kwali for treatment.

When we visited the hospital, the management informed us that the injured had been discharged. I was excited to hear the leadership inform us that although theirs is a private hospital, they are open to receiving and treating all victims irrespective of whether they can afford the hospital fees.

So what really is the reason for this suicide driven travel pattern that addicts maintain is cozy, cheap and also fun. Why do people drive against traffic despite the inherent risk involved? Let me start with driving against traffic which may be as a result of driver inattention or impairment.

It may also be as a result of inadequate or confusing road markings or signages. It may also be a case where a driver from a right-hand traffic country is unaccustomed to a left-hand traffic country. A good case is a UK driver in Nigeria or a Nigerian driver in the UK. Another question to ask is why do people drive on the wrong side of the road. This occurs on either one-or two-way roads as well as in parking lots and parking garages, and may be due to driver inattention or impairment too. It can occur on either one- or two-way roads, as well as in parking lots and parking garages, and may be due to driver inattention or impairment, or because of insufficient or confusing road markings or signage, or a driver from a right-hand traffic country being unaccustomed to driving in a left-hand traffic country.

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