ROAD TRAFFIC CRASHES AND FATALITIES
All the stakeholders should do more to contain the carnage
To many Nigerians, death by road traffic crashes (RTC) becomes news only when prominent citizens are involved or casualty figures in specific incidents are high. Yet, there’s hardly a day when some families would not be thrown into mourning because of road accidents which claim thousands of people every year. Last week, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed revealed that between January and September this year, no fewer than 3,767 people lost their lives to these crashes. Within the same period, 22,373 sustained injuries in 7,011 RTC cases across the country. “The theme for this year’s World Day of Remembrance for RTC Victims is ‘That Day’, and the theme was carefully crafted to tell the stories of That Day when traffic collisions stopped or changed the course of the victim’s lives forever,” said Mohammed.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has in recent years identified the behaviour of road users as one of the reasons for high fatalities when RTC occurs. Many do not use seat belts. But seat belts are not mere ornaments. They are standard safety equipment of every modern car to cushion the impact of a car crash on the occupants, particularly the driver and the passenger in the front seat. In studies carried out in many developed countries – from Sweden to the United States – it had been proved statistically that seat belt, if properly worn, greatly reduces the risk of death and injury in most car crashes. In a survey of 28,000 accidents in Sweden for instance, unbelted occupants sustained fatal injuries whereas the belted in most cases, walked away with minor injuries. Airbag, another safety device in many modern cars, increases the effectiveness of the seat belt but is not a replacement as it does not protect against side impacts. Indeed, many modern cars are equipped with intelligent seat belt reminders. Moreover, the belts are comfortable and can even be slackened.
Unfortunately, in many of the country’s cities and on the highways, the law is observed more in the breach. Besides, a reckless driving culture occasioned by making calls or texting on cell phones while on the wheel, drunk driving, poorly maintained vehicles and bad roads to boot have combined to make Nigerian roads a theatre of blood. In many countries, there are enlightenment campaigns on the danger of these habits. As a way of addressing this challenge, the FRSC once promised to open a ‘Shame Register’ which would be a sort of black book for notorious traffic offenders regardless of their status in the society. Nothing has been heard about it again. To compound the challenge, the FRSC, like many other federal agencies, seems more interested in revenue generation than pursuing their core mandate.
The state of the roads is another major cause of accidents. Nigeria’s total highway length of 194,394 kilometres is rated second worst in the world. While we commend initiatives like the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy (2021-2030) and the National Crash Reporting Information System (NACRIS) by the FRSC, more should be done to prevent the needless deaths on our roads. Both the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics and that of the FRSC place Nigeria as one of the countries with very high road fatalities in the world. This high turnover of victims is undesirable given that they are often people in the prime of their productive years. We urge the FRSC to collaborate with other stakeholders, including the road transport unions on this issue. We must put an end to the avoidable carnage on our roads.
