TRANSPORT-NIGERIA: Festivities Increase Road Carnage

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Dec 7 1999 (IPS) - Many lives are lost yearly through road accidents especially during Yuletide season in Nigeria.

Experts attribute most of the accidents to the rise in the volume of traffic, overspeeding, poor state of vehicles and roads and disregards for road signs by drunken drivers.

“Yuletide periods are months when the largest number of Nigerians travel for Christmas celebrations and other family related-ceremonies,” explains Kayode Olagunju, Lagos State Road Safety Commander.

Olagunju says carelessness on the part of drivers seeking to maximise revenue often lead to more accidents at Yuletide than at other times of the year.

During the Yuletide period drivers experience poor visibility as a result of the Harmattan when the weather is hazy from morning till afternoon and worst at night with dust and dew obstructing vision, he says.

“During the Yuletide period,” Olagunju says, “commuter boom encourages transport owners to put their vehicles on the road round the clock forcing drivers to have less respite as some keep driving for 24 hours, non-stop”.

Available statistics from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) show that between 1990 and 1998, a total of 900,533 accidents occurred on Nigerian roads resulting in 229,955 deaths with 739,404 injured persons, making a total of 969,359 casualties.

In the commercial capital Lagos alone, between 1998 and this year, a total of 34,552 accidents, representing 17.86 percent of the total national figures of 193,415 accidents recorded, was declared.

And of the total of 200,615 injuries reported during the 1998/1999 period, 18,944 occurred on Lagos roads, while 7,097 road users out of 70,092 that lost their lives during the same period met their deaths on Lagos roads.

Between January and October this year, 504 deaths, 384 male and 120 females, were recorded in this former capital of Nigeria with 1,734 injuries involving 1,236 males and 478 females from 2,841 accidents.

A total of 3,900 vehicles were involved in traffic accidents in Lagos in the first ten months of this year.

Olagunju says road accident, a common occurrence in African cities, have reached an alarming proportion in Nigeria and other African countries.

“Whereas in the United States, the number of deaths per 10,000 vehicles involved in accidents is only three, France and England five and Cote d’Ivoire 40, in Nigeria the figure is as high as 230 deaths,” he says.

Olagunju attributes the increasing rate of accidents especially in Lagos State to a lull in public enlightenment campaigns by the FRSC due to the controversial merger plans between the Commission and the police, which had hampered attempts to organise rallies for the stakeholders.

To reverse the situation, the Commission has intensified patrols and public enlightenment campaigns with massive urban patrol between 6 a.m and 10 p.m daily.

Drivers apprehended for obstruction, dangerous driving, drunk- driving, and traffic sign violation and other offences are often prosecuted on the spot and risk being jailed for six months.

The patrol team has also been equipped with instruments to detect drunk drivers.

Danyaro Yakassai, Chief Marshal of the Commission, at a recent rally in the Southeastern city of Uyo, said investigations have shown that some commercial drivers involved in drunk-driving were found to have started the day by first visiting the alcohol outlets in the parks.

Yakassai also warned against night journeys to avoid accidents.

“Poor visibility, absence of patrols and rescue assistance at night as well as fatigue among drivers are factors that negate against night trips. We will not stop night travels, but we advise against it,” he said.

The effort to reduce road accidents especially during holiday period has not been left to the FRSC alone, operators of long distance luxury buses, whose vehicles carry more than 70 percent of commuters, have also joined in the measures to reduce accidents during this year’s Christmas and New Year period.

For example, ABC Transport, one of Nigeria’s luxury bus operators, recently launched an accident-free campaign in Lagos for its drivers, employees and passengers.

The campaign features educational and enlightenment materials for travellers on ABC Transport.

Other activities include in-bus film shows on accident prevention and safety on the roads and distribution of campaign stickers and posters to travellers.