On Sunday 12, January 2025, I was on my way to Lekki, Ajah, to report an event for Daily Independent, so I boarded a Commercial 18 – Seater bus at Oshodi, which was fully loaded at our departure with me sitting in the front seat by the bus window.
On getting to Pa Alfred Rewane Road in Ikoyi towards going to Falomo, a black SUV vehicle drove speedily out of the gate of Ikoyi Club 1938 without minding approaching vehicles on the highway and our bus driver who suddenly sighted the SUV that was already on the centre of the Rewane highway became really startled, in frantic effort not to ram into the offensive SUV, he swerved the steering to the left and the next attempt to swerve to the right the bus somersaulted with all of us inside the bus!
Many of the passengers sustained varying degrees of injuries, but I came out unscathed.
This is one account of many crashes occurring daily on our roads and highways, throwing up worries over the rates of occurrence, making experts in this piece to call on regulatory bodies to step up their game to stem the rise.
Mr. Jide Owatunmise, the Registrar and Chief Executive, Professional Driving and Safety Academy, said the number of Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths recorded in Nigeria in the past 2 weeks is a worrisome trend that needs to be addressed quickly to prevent further loss of lives and properties on Nigeria roads.
He said: “The recent report by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) that there is a reduction in the Number of Road Traffic Crashes did not actually mean a reduction in the Rate of Road Traffic Crashes in Nigeria. To have a reliable report, there must not only be a comparative analysis of the number of Road Traffic Crashes in 2023 and 2024. There should also be a comparative analysis of the number of vehicles on the road around the same time in 2023 and 2024.
“Since the increase in the price of fuel, the number of commercial and private vehicles on the roads has reduced drastically. The frequency of trips by the commercial vehicles on the roads has also reduced significantly. During the festive period last year, the roads were freer than the previous years because of the hardship in the Country.”
Owatunmise stressed that if the factors mentioned above are considered in the statistics and reports, the number of Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths reported by FRSC was not a reduction but an increase in the rate of Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths in Nigeria, saying, “with these dangerous signals, there is a need to urgently address the following issues to ensure a real reduction in the rate of Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths in Nigeria.”
Urgent Measures
• Quality Driver Education and Retraining through the Accredited Driving Schools.
• The use of Technology to reduce the human interface in the apprehension of Traffic law violators.
• Mandatory Provision and Maintenance of Traffic Signs, Road Markings and appropriate Road Furniture’s..
• Stoppage of Bribery and Corruption among the FRSC Officers, Police Officers, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) and the State Traffic Management Agencies. This will significantly reduce impunity the Drivers on the roads.
• Check the Compromise by Officers at the various Driver Licence Centres (DLCs) nationwide.
• Stamp out the compromise by the Driving School in Training and Testing of Drivers for presentation for Driver’s Licence processing.
• Monitor and support the Accredited Driving Schools to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness in providing quality Driver Training to Learners Drivers as well as the experienced Drivers.
• The use of joint Task Force at the Black spots prone to Accidents.
• Intensify the use of Mobile courts at strategic points renowned for more frequent Traffic Law violations.
• Institutionalise Consequece Management in Road Traffic Administration in Nigeria.
• Intensify the implementation of Road Safety Education in the Primary and Secondary Schools in Nigeria.
• Intensify of efforts and funding for Post – Crash Care.
• More support from the Federal, State and Local Governments for the operations of the Stakeholders in Road Safety Administration.
“I believe with the above measures taken effectively and objectively, the rate of Road Traffic Crashes, Injuries and Deaths will sustainably reduce continually in all the parts of Nigeria.” Owatunmise said.
In September 2024, NMA’s Lagos chapter in a statement signed by its Chairma, Saheed Kehinde, warned that the recent hike in petrol prices would exacerbate depression rates, hospital admissions related to stress-induced medical conditions, social unrest, and even mortality among Nigerians.
The statement reads in part: “This unilateral decision has imposed further unbearable hardship on Nigerians, who are already grappling with severe economic challenges and insecurity.”
According to Dr. Laide Iretiola, Senior Partner at Moscow Medics, Ijesha, Lagos, “Accidents do not just happen, they are caused. In other words, every accident in relation to transport is not just a mere occurrence, but has been instituted as a result of one factor or the other.
“Depression is a form of mood disorder that can be caused by financial stress or poverty, resulting in the feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or misery and a loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities.
“It can be associated with suicidal thoughts or self-blame, and can interfere with an individual’s ability to perform routine daily functions, especially safe driving.
“The economy of the country is a major factor. There is poverty in the land and this has caused a lot of people to be confused about life.”
Adding, “Society is also not helping with the many pressures on every side. Many youths are under so much pressure to make money quickly.
“An increasing body of research confirms that individuals experiencing depression are at High risk of crashing their vehicles while driving. Persons with financial challenges are likely to have diminished cognitive abilities, inability to concentrate, and slowed reaction time to respond to sudden occurrence when driving.” Ireti said.
A recent study has identified rates of road accidents and violations in drivers with depression, accounts for about 8.6% of the causes of road crashes.
Someone who is struggling with depression may be more likely to cause a motor vehicle collision for a variety of different reasons. Depression can play a role in motor vehicle collisions and draw attention to the importance of staying off the road if anything may affect your ability to drive.
A driver may be depressed for any number of reasons, whether they recently went through divorce, loss of job, business failure as it is becoming rampant, indebtedness or other financial problems and most especially, the spiking cost of fuel in the Country.
Nigeria has the awful distinction of being tagged the world capital of poverty, with 71 million people living in extreme poverty today (World Poverty Clock, 2023) and a total of 133 million people classed as multi-dimensionally poor according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
A research paper showed financial stress is positively associated with depression. A positive association between financial stress and depression is found amongst low income people and mostly in low-and middle-income countries, but is generally stronger among populations with low income or wealth.
The above data aptly describes the state of a majority of Nigerians who are daily inundated with the skyrocketing costs of food items, electricity, cooking gas, petrol, transport costs, cost of rents, school fees and depreciating value of naira.
According to statistical findings in 2018, drink driving accidents are the cause of many deaths and injuries to Nigerians.
Dr. Oketola said: “owing to the growing economic crisis affecting most families and businesses in Nigeria, there is likelihood for people to indulge more in drunkenness and the use of substances as an escapist means from financial issues and this fact has been empirically proven from recent research reports, showing a dramatic increase in brothels, hotels, lounges and increased sales of alcoholic drinks , especially strong liquor in the country..
“Despite the overwhelming evidence of high levels of alcohol consumption among the driving population in Nigeria, there has been little effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to regulate and introduce policy to control drink driving in the country.
“In Nigeria, there are few laws that restrict or regulate alcohol purchasing or consumption at the federal, state or local government level, especially at motor parks or vehicle loading points.
“The social and economic impact of drunk driving in Nigeria is difficult to gauge with any precision because of the dearth of relevant studies concerning the problem.
“What is known for certain is that trauma from road traffic accidents is on the increase in Nigeria today”, he said.
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