Prevention is said to be better than cure. So as the use of safety belts in vehicles prevents unforeseen circumstances. But how safe can such belts be when in commercial vehicles?
This question becomes imminent whenever one boards commercial vehicles. In a city like Lagos where the population competes with some countries in the continent, it is only imaginable the volume of vehicular movement that takes place.
Those who do not own a car definitely must patronise the commercial buses. Also, those who own vehicles but do not want to be run down a typical traffic day might decide to hop into the next available bus.
Transportation activity becomes heightened on week days. But one trend that cannot be overlooked is the use of seat belts by front row passengers. This is a welcome development. However, there is a snag to such development. Passengers resent vehemently when told wear such belts.
A seat belt according to wikipedia is a vehicle device designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop.
It is commonly observed the little arguments that usually ensue in commercial vehicles over the use of seat belts. While commuters who choose the front seat vehemently refuse its use due to various reasons, drivers tend to be adamant about its use.
According to the drivers, the safety of their passengers is paramount coupled with their aversion to incur the wrath of transport regulators.
Among the commuters who spoke with The Nation, top reasons for their regularly refusal is attributed to the belts’ unsightly appearance and the use of ropes in the name of safety belts.
John Oyewale lives in Ogba but works in Victoria Island. He is a regular user of the commercial vehicles. While on his way to work daily, he prefers to use the seat beside the driver but recently stopped such practice. When asked why he did so, he has this sordid experience to share:
“These commercial vehicle owners are not helping matters. How can I continue to make use of ropes to cage myself all in the name of seat belt? I will rather occupy a seat at the back where I will feel comfortable. Such so called seat belts are static. It is not adjustable,” he lamented.
Another person who simply wants to be addressed as Chris also had a bitter experience with use of seat belts. When asked about his seat belt experience narrates thus: “I was invited for an interview somewhere in Lagos. I boarded a bus from the bus park. I chose the front seat which is my favourite. When we were about to move the driver told me to wear the seat belt. Looking at the seat belt, it had no lock but a rope tied to the door and the seat.
“Apart from that, its appearance was not what I could afford to rest across my White shirt. I explained these to the driver. The driver got angry and reigned abuses.”
Taking it in good strides all the insults hurled at him, Chris marvelled at the driver’s insistence to put on such ‘so-called belt’ on his sparkling long sleeved shirt. These insults attracted a whole lot of comments from other commuters. All comments were in favour of Chris.
If not for the timely intervention of a fellow bus driver at the bus park, the commuters were ready to disembark from the bus.
For Timothy Ajewole, he doesn’t believe in the effectiveness of such belts. When asked why? He replied asking a rather rhetorical question in pidgin: “My brother something wey dey tie for two ends fit hold you well when anything happen?”
He however doesn’t blame the drivers but regulators. “Regulators are to blame. It is one thing to create a preventive measure but ensuring the right belts are used is another thing all together,” he said
“I recall how I was asked to use the seat belt by the driver. But seeing the belt was dirty, I refused. My refusal caused uproar in the bus. Explaining to him didn’t change anything. All he was after was my wearing of the belt in order to avoid arrest,” Okolo Ezeh narrates.
For Ebube, a regular commuter, such commercial buses are not after the safety of passengers or the cleanliness of such seat belts. “All they want to avoid is paying fine,” he added.
Defending claims by the passengers about the state of seatbelts, a bus driver, Yinka says such commuters are liars. Using his bus as an example, Yinka says his front seat passengers enjoy each ride. Asides that, he says the use of the seatbelts helps him evade arrest from law enforcement agencies.
“How much do I earn to pay N20, 000 to law enforcement agencies? On each trip I do not make as much as that,” he said.
He is rather of the opinion that commuters are averse to the use of seat belts. “These people want to be free. When you tell them to wear the belt, they ignore you.”
Refusing to toe the line of his colleague, Esho, a driver in one of the motor parks in Lagos confesses that such belts are not the best for safety. “These belts in vehicles are not safe. We just put them to avoid the disturbances of Road safety.”
Sounding religious he says: “We all are not safe. Only God saves. If front seat passengers use seat belt, how about the other 23 passengers without seat belts?”
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in 2011 stated that 4,327 persons were killed by road accidents while 17,464 persons sustained various degrees of injuries. While in 2012, 4,260 persons were killed by road accidents.
Among the causes of such accidents are: over speeding, drunk driving, ignoring road signs, bad roads and the non use of seat/safety belt.
