Faces behind the crashes (I) Category: RightMotoring Published on Saturday, 24 August 2013 05:00 Written by JONAS AGWU Hits: 0 0 inShare Sometime in December, 2012, I did a piece with this same title. This was shortly after a series of avoidable crashes, including the crash that killed the brother to the Deputy Senate President and an FRSC officer at his duty point where he was detailed to save lives. It’s almost ten months after that piece and about four months to the end of year activities usually characterised by increased motorisation. Today, I am compelled to do what might look like a more elaborate piece with the same title which I intend to run for the next two weeks for several reasons. The first is that despite the efforts by the Federal Road Safety Corps and its partners, crashes are yet to abate. Secondly, I have lost friends and colleagues, including youngsters who could have been my children. Thirdly, I have read reactions, opinions and editorials, including personal discussions on these crashes and I get stunned by some of the views. Lastly, each time there is a crash, the correct reaction or question of unravelling the mistake of the man behind the wheel; the speed at which the vehicle was moving, knowing fully well that behind every fatal crash is excessive speed which most drivers indulge in; the minimum safety condition of the vehicles such as the state of the tyres, electrical and mechanical state…all these are not considered. All we do is pass the buck by excusing irresponsible driving which has become the norm-blame government for the roads despite government’s on-going efforts to fix the roads. Some blame the Federal Road Safety Corps for every bad driving and I agree that the Corps has its fair share of burden, but do we know that even though the Corps designs and produces drivers licence and number plates in line with the provision of its 2007 Act, the States statutorily are responsible for testing drivers and inspecting vehicles. Except for the novel strides of the Lagos State government and perhaps few others, how many States have put a proper structure in place for safe driving? How many thoroughly drill would-be applicants for drivers’ licence in keeping with the provisions of the 2012 National Road Traffic Regulations, a question raised by Kaduna state Governor during a recent visit by the FRSC boss. How many of us insist on being properly tested as responsible citizens? How often do we seek ways to cut corners by not going through the processes? How many hide under our tight working schedules to employ proxy touts only to turn around to blame touts? Others stretch their anger to the extreme by calling for the scrapping of the Corps. Candidly, my take which this column stands for is that we can make a huge difference by simply changing our driving habits. If we collectively cut down on excessive speeding, road crashes will crash instantly. Since most crashes leading to death are speed related, I will dwell a little on speed and will cite crash cases from Nigeria and other parts of the world to drive two fundamental points: that there is the need for appropriate structures such as good roads with appropriate road furniture to be put in place, but the truth is that even with the good structures in the Federal Capital Territory, fatalities still rank high, underscoring the need for responsible driving. Secondly, much more than good roads, which we all crave for, the question of how we use these structures is extremely crucial, with driving under appropriate and common sense speed being the most vital. Speed limits are used to regulate the speed of vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum (which may be variable), minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign. Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of nations or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional and/or judicial bodies such as the Corps and other relevant traffic regulatory agencies. Attitude and pedestrian bridges usage in Nigeria (II) To ensure that the people use the bridges, thereby stopping accidents on the roads, the Lagos State Government empowers officers of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) to arrest anyone who crosses the road. At Ojota, many of the officers, in green uniforms, can be seen patrolling median of the dual carriageways, waiting to arrest pedestrians who break the law. The agency has an office by the foot of the bridge linking motorists with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Here, offenders are tried in an emergency court and, if necessary, fined. One of the officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his colleagues were having a difficult time persuading the people to use the bridge, adding that those arrested sometimes attempted to force their way to freedom by fighting them. He said, “Anyone caught crossing the expressway will be sent to our office at Alausa, Ikeja, after which the person would be taken to the Ikeja High Court. The fellow, if found guilty, would be asked to pay a fine. The guilty offender could be asked to engage in community service.” The KAI official said about 20 people are caught crossing the expressway daily. Recent studies were carried out in the United Kingdom to study the pedestrian behavior and attitude in the area of a pedestrian bridge. It was concluded that though pedestrian bridges have a positive impact and have great potential of reducing number of pedestrian fatalities. The main factors that affect the use of pedestrian bridges are: the posted speed limit, the overall width of the cross walkway, and the existence of median barrier. Nevertheless, pedestrian accidents normally involve passenger cars. However, considerable numbers of accidents involved heavy goods vehicles. Pedestrians walking on the road make up the majority of casualties in pedestrian-related road crashes followed by pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. Main cause of pedestrian accidents is error of the driver. That includes not respecting pedestrian priority, lack of attention, driving under influence (DUI), speed, and disregard for crosswalks. More than 50% of pedestrian accidents are caused by cars driving at 40 mph and above especially within built-up areas. Pedestrian accidents can also be caused by error of the pedestrians, such as lack of attention, ignoring traffic controls, ignoring crosswalks and pedestrian bridges, lack of awareness or caution. The same study further recommended the following measures to improve the driver and pedestrian behavior: a. Increase enforcement b. Education and awareness for drivers and pedestrians c. Increase collaboration among law enforcement agencies d. Use high technology surveillance of driver behavior such as using stationary and moving radars and cameras. e. To have a daily news report through the T.V. and Radio stations about the daily traffic accidents, and to show the human losses and the injuries caused by these accidents, also to talk about the social and financial losses that can result from pedestrian-related road crashes. f. To force drivers and pedestrians who repeat traffic violations to attend training courses concerning traffic laws and regulations. g. To increase the penalties for violation of traffic laws and rules h. To start educating our children in schools about traffic safety rules and regulations. Also, encourage the students at university level to take traffic safety course. i. To encourage drivers to drive defensively and to obey traffic rules and regulations in all circumstances. j. Improved presence law enforcement agencies on the most hazardous and dangerous streets and intersections. Suffice to state at this juncture that these recommendations are not only possible but practicable within the Nigerian context. What we need is improved legislation on traffic laws, robust public awareness on the traffic hazards associated with non-use of pedestrian bridges, enhancing the enforcement capacity of relevant government agencies, construction of more pedestrian bridges nationwide, improved funding on road safety matters, political will and collective responsibility of drivers and pedestrians to comply with related traffic rules and regulations. Concluded
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 05:28:26 +0000
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