The Nation Newspaper

Category: Motoring

  • Air and road safety in Nigeria

    The penultimate week’s building collapse, which led to the death of 20 children and adults on Lagos Island, is unfortunate and pathetic.

    After the incidence, government officials disclosed that the school was unapproved. The school, which shared a building with commercial shops for many years, was proclaimed as illegal. What has the Inspectorate department of the Ministry of Education been doing before the collapse, which exposed their compromise? Can they claim ignorance of the existence of the school?

    After the collapse of the building, the government swung into action to demolish some other weak buildings in the area. What has the state building regulatory authority and the relevant Ministry been doing about the so called weak buildings? I do hope they won’t go back to sleep. Why do governments at the federal, state and local levels wait for disasters to happen before they wake up to their responsibilities? This non- challant  attitude sad.

    In August 2017, I boarded an aircraft in Nigeria and the interior of the aircraft, including the seats, could be likened to a glorified molue commercial bus. The sound and interior of the aircraft clearly revealed that that it was nothing but a flying casket. Within that period, I featured an article on air safety in this column where I reported the experience. Few days after the article was published, there was a report that the door of an aircraft fell off while landing. What would have happened to the people in the aircraft and those on ground, if the aircraft was already airborne when the door fell off?

    We give God the glory for the safety in our airspace for some years. The safety standards of some of the aircraft being used for domestic flights  call for proactive attention and decisions to avert air disasters. There must be regular monitoring and uncompromised enforcement of maintenance and safety standards.

    Similarly, there are many vehicles plying our roads that are nothing but mobile caskets. The National Road Traffic Regulations clearly states that  vehicle occupants must wear the seat belts. Over 80 per cent of the vehicles in Nigeria, particularly the commercial vehicles, have no functional seat  belts for passengers or occupants. The seats of most of the commercial buses  have been dangerously reconstructed to the level that seat belts cannot be attached to them. In addition, there are many iron dangerously exposed in several commercial buses that make injuries and death so easy even in low impact cases of road traffic crashes. The question is, what have the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) been doing that we still have so many substandard vehicles on the roads, also overloading Nigerians dangerously on the roads? Are the lives of the people not as important as the lives of the VIPs?

    I have embarked on many research on transportation and road safety the results of which will take many books. One case I will, however,  mention here is the hazardous impunity on the roads. I have seen uncountable numbers of the Nigeria Police (VP) vehicles moving on the road without head lamps, traffic indicators (pointers), break lights, reverse lights, side mirrors and inside mirrors while some of the vehicles are sincerely not roadworthy.

    Yet, they do move freely on the roads in the states and even the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Do they have road traffic immunity? Is the NP above the road traffic law? Many roads around the Police stations are littered with arrested vehicles causing traffic changes with impunity.

    Likewise, I have seen many log – carry trucks and vehicle towing vans in their rickety forms moving on the roads without head lamps, brake lights, turn-indicators and other essentials with impunity. Are they also above the law? Who is compromising in these cases?

    The government, Nigerians, the United Nations are bothered about the high rate of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in the country. There will only be solution when those in authority and other Nigerians get more uncompromisingly committed to doing the right thing at the right time towards the common purpose of ensuring safety on the airspace and roads.

  • Ford developing vehicle/pedestrians communication gadget

    Hand gestures, head nods and thumbs-up signals all help to ensure drivers, pedestrians and cyclists know what each other is doing. But how will self driving vehicles, with no human driver, communicate with those around them?

    Ford has been testing one approach that uses lights to indicate what the vehicle is doing and what it will do next. It is part of the company’s research into developing a communication interface that will help autonomous vehicles seamlessly integrate with other road users.

    To ensure testing was as realistic and natural as possible, the company created the “Human Car Seat” that it installed inside a Transit Connect van. Designed to look like an autonomous vehicle, with the driver hidden in the seat, observers could more effectively gauge responses to a roof-mounted light bar that flashed white, purple and turquoise to indicate when the van was driving, about to pull forwards and giving way.

    Thorsten Warwel, manager, Core Lighting, Ford of Europe, said: “Fundamentally, people need to trust autonomous vehicles and developing one universal visual means of communication is a key to that. Turning someone into a ‘Human Car Seat’ was one of those ideas when there was a bit of a pause and then a realisation that this was absolutely the best and most effective way of finding out what we needed to know.”

    The latest testing, which complements research already carried out in the United States, was conducted together with Chemnitz University of Technology, in Germany. Researchers expanded the tests to check the effectiveness of two other colours, in addition to white; a rooftop location, when the U.S tests had the lights placed on the top part of the windshield; and situations with further distance, showing the lights up to 500 metres away.

    It showed that 60 per cent of the 173 people surveyed after encountering the Transit Connect thought it was an autonomous vehicle.

    Together with the observed reactions of a further 1,600 people, turquoise – more noticeable than white and less easily confused with red than purple – emerged as the colour that was preferred. There was also a high level of acceptance and trust in the signals, providing a basis from which researchers can further develop and hone the visual language.

    Dr. Matthias Beggiato, Department of Psychology in the university, said: “Making eye contact is important – but our study showed that first and foremost road users look to see what a vehicle is doing. The next step is to look at how we might ensure the light signals can be made clearer and more intuitive to everyone.”

    “Human Car Seat” drivers, who underwent training to ensure they drove safely at all times, kept their eyes on the road through a false head rest and operated a special lever to indicate. An assistant, hidden in the back, also monitored the road ahead and ensured that the driver had a ready supply of water.

    In separate tests conducted by Ford together with the automotive lighting and electronics specialist HELLA, researchers tested further locations for the lights, such as on the grille and headlamps, though no clear preference emerged.

    With the goal of developing a purpose-built self-driving vehicle for deployment first in North America in 2021, Ford is working towards ensuring that people trust autonomous vehicles. Essential to this is the creation of an industry standard for communicating driving intent. The company is collaborating with several industry organisations, including the International Organisation for Standardisation and the Society of Automotive Engineers, and is calling on other automotive and technology companies to help create that standard.

    Ford, in partnership with Argo AI, recently became the first company to test autonomous vehicles in Washington D.C., building on testing already underway in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Miami. In China, the company is part of the Apollo programme offered by Baidu, China’s top search engine operator, and is working with them to begin testing self-driving cars on designated roads in Beijing and other Chinese cities later this year.

  • CFAO customers laud return of King Long buses

    The relaunch of King Long buses into the local market by CFAO has been lauded by the customers and dealers.

    Mrs. Erinma Kanno, the proprietor of Troika Schools, Lekki, Lagos, noted that the quality of the bus is top class.

    According to her, the buses which she has been using for some years for school activities, are “fuel efficient, rugged, easy to maintain and importantly, affordable”.

    She explained that before settling for King Long buses, she used tokunbo (second hand) buses of other brands, but got her hands burnt because of too frequent down time.

    The prices of King Long buses, she said, are cheaper compare to other brands.

    According to her, some of the buses had run over 200,000 kilometres and are in still good condition.

    Also, a CFAO dealer, Mr. Adeleke Samuel, stated that he has been doing business with CFAO for over 10 years, and from his experience there is a high demand for King Long buses because it gives value for money.

    The General Manager of CFAO Equipment, a division of the multinational company saddled with distributing the King Long brand in Nigeria, Mr. Laurent Friedrich, stated that his company known for distributing only quality products, settled for King Long because of its salient features.

    Friederich said the bus can be used for  various purposes, such as city and inter-city transportation, school bus, Church/Mosque bus, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and cargo distribution bus, ambulance, among others.

    The Kingwin-15 Seater bus, which is ideal for modern day passenger transportation, comes with a 2.237-litre engine on a long wheel base, five-speed transmission and safety features, such as anti-locking braking system, stop lamp, seat belts on all seats, and appropriate braking system.

    The functional equipment of the bus include front fog lamp, rear view mirror, rear stepped bumper, speed limit device, among others. It also comes with a petrol engine, CD+MP3 player, front and rear air conditioning system among others.

    The Kingwin Cargovan also comes on a long wheel base with a high mount stop lamp, tyre size of 195/70/R15, 2.237-litre engine, and other standard features applicable to the 15 seater bus. It also comes with a generous 7.6 cubic meter space.

  • Road safety: In search of a model city

    In Nigeria, there are model schools established by the Federal and state governments. Though most of the model schools are not model in the real sense of it, the idea behind their establishment is lofty. It is to make such schools a good example in all ramifications for other schools to emulate.

    It is disheartening that the 2018 Global Road Safety Report and the report by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) revealed an increase in road traffic crashes. More worrisome is the fact that most of the state and local governments have not seen nor understood their unique roles in the prevention of road traffic crashes, injuries and death. The Federal Government also has not clearly demonstrated leadership in road safety in the country.

    The number of people killed in road accidents yearly are more than those killed by Boko Haram insurgents and HIV/AIDS combined, yet the attention being given to road safety issues is far less. Consequent upon the choice of LEADERSHIP as the theme of this year’s Road Safety Week by the United Nations/WorldHealth Organisation, I use this platform to plead with the federal, state and local governments and their relevant agencies as well as the civil society organisations to get much more committed to the fight against accidents on the roads.

    Furthermore, there is an urgent need for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to make Abuja Municipality a model in road safety. This includes good roads and road networks (it has a high mark in this already), adequate traffic signs and road markings(much still need to be done), adequate and functional traffic lights(a lot still need to be done), traffic management(very poor), modern and organised Public Transportation system(very poor), automated traffic law enforcement(non-existent and the  enforcement system is a thuggery type which without doubt is a great blemish to the status of the FCT), automated speed monitoring device (non-existent), automated fines and payment control system(non-existent and the practice of removing vehicle plate number as a strategy for compelling traffic offenders to show up to pay fines or bribe is a disgrace to road traffic administration), automated road security system (although security in the municipal area is fair, the absence of functional CCTV cameras has shifted the FCT backward to near the achulian or dark age. The presence of functional CCTV Cameras at strategic locations will both help the traffic safety and security systems), and quality driver education and regular result-orientedpublic enlightenment(still far from required), among others.

    The situation in the capitals and major cities of the states is worse than the one in the FCT. Lagos State is, however, attempting to take steps to address a few of the issues with increased seriousness. The state governments also need to start by having model cities or smart cities which can pass the global test of road safety anytime.

    An unbiased assessment of the above – listed parameters is a clear attestation to the fact that the country is still very far from taking proactive steps to significantly reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities as contained in the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety,  the Accra Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6.

    In the face of these road safety challenges, the Road Safety Strategy is still far from being well implemented.

    Governments at all levels together with their relevant agencies need to stop paying leap service to road safety adminstration and traffic management and get more committed with wholesome involvement of all the stakeholders to drastically reduce the rate of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths on  the roads.

  • Kia to reward customers in promo

    Kia Motors Nigeria has rolled out service campaigns to reward customers.

    The new ‘Mega March Makeover’ promo, among other offers, is aimed at providing a top-notch bodywork and painting service for customers at a heavily discounted pricing.

    The new discounted body shop initiative offers body and painting services to car owners to help them reinvent the look and feel of their cars.

    Under the Mega March Makeover promo, the company is offering as low as N27,000 and up to 45 per cent discount on all body repairs and painting to customers while cutting process time through the paint booths and trained and specialised body shop engineers in the service centres.

    Painting a car is an opportunity to rejuvenate its original look or even to try out a new look with a different colour. However, with the number of roadside body shops with low-quality paints at a cheap price and the high cost of painting works from major auto dealers, more often than not, car owners are bedevilled with a difficult choice; highly priced quality painting compare to quack body shops with low quality painting work that wears out in no time.

    With so much confusion and misinformation around the collision repair process, and to help bridge the gap between price and quality painting works, Kia Motors Nigeria has found it beneficial to take an active role in the process and improve brand loyalty in addition to offering best-in-class body works and painting at an affordable price for customers.

    “As a leading auto brand in the country with increasing market share, our focus is on providing high quality, innovative products and above all solutions and offers to our growing customer base in Nigeria,” Sanjay Tatpati, Chief Operation Officer, Kia Motors Nigeria said in a statement.

    Tatpati stressed that “there are two primary goals. Number one is quality painting at affordable pricing.”

    According to him, “this is about a proper, highly professional repair for Kia vehicles that are on the road, and ultimately that correlates directly to our second objective: being customer-centric. This is a customer-first programme that is all about how we can best maintain Kia cars for our customers and anyone else that may be involved in an accident or just a general makeover for cars

    “It all starts with customer satisfaction and works backward from there. Typically, customers are in a collision at one point or the other, so it’s not something they deal with on a daily basis. However, when they are involved in a collision, it’s always an unpleasant experience. So that is where we like to start: getting that customer into a certified body shop and making sure that they’re happy with their experience.”

  • South African-built Ranger tops pickup sales in Europe

    International demand for Ford’s Ranger pickup reached an all-time high in 2018, with Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria having shipped a total of 68,364 units to export markets – a substantial 16.2 per cent increase compared to 2017.

    Combined Ranger production for the domestic and export markets for 2018 ended on 98 505 units, 8,383 more than the previous year. This is the highest annual production volume to date for Ford’s South African operations, with December 2018 reaching a new monthly record of 11,091 combined Ranger sales.

    Managing Director, Ford Motor Company Sub-Saharan Africa Region Neale Hill said: “It was an extremely busy and successful year for our export business in 2018, as we attained our highest-ever production volume for the Ford Ranger, and boosted our export volumes by 16.2 per cent to retain our undisputed leadership of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) export segment.

    “This was achieved despite the extensive changes and upgrades implemented at the Silverton Assembly Plant over the past 18 months. We invested over R3-billion in preparation for even higher production capacities for 2019 and beyond, as well as for the imminent launch of the first-ever Ford Ranger Raptor, along with the new Ranger and Everest models due later this year.”

    The Ranger is becoming increasingly popular amongst European buyers, both for commercial and leisure vehicle applications, thanks to its wide breadth of capabilities, its proven performance, outstanding quality, leading-edge technologies and exceptional safety.

    The bulk of Ranger exports were destined for European markets, with Ford of Europe notching up a final tally of 51,500 sales in its 20 traditional ‘EU20’ markets. This gave the Ranger unrivalled leadership of the pickup segment, claiming 27.7 per cent market share – up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year.

    “The success of the Ranger is reflected in the market share it enjoys in Europe, a region that represents some of the most critical and fastidious customers in the world. This is a credit to all our employees and suppliers that play an integral role helping us to grow the crucial export business even further, while continuing to ensure that we deliver top-quality vehicles to our customers locally and around the world,” Hill said.

    The Ranger also contributed to Ford of Europe attaining its best commercial vehicle sales volume in 25 years, as well as its highest commercial vehicle market share since 1995, at 14.1 per cent.

  • Uber updates injury protection for driver-partners

    Uber has announced that it has extended its Partner Injury Protection cover for driver-partners to include a daily payment benefit.

    Since 2017, Uber driver-partners and riders across Nigeria have been protected on the road, however, with this new update, driver-partners in Nigeria now have more peace of mind when using Uber.

    Uber General Manager West Africa Lola Kassim, said the extended partnership with AXA Mansard Insurance will play a huge role in achieving their goal of reliable, affordable, and safe transportation options for all driver-partners and riders across Nigeria.

    “This update forms part of Uber’s global commitment across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and is a unique, first of its kind solution for driver-partners and riders using technology apps across Nigeria,” Kassim said.

    Driver-partners are covered from the moment they accept a trip, while driving to pick up a rider, and until the trip ends, and riders will be covered from the moment a trips starts,  until the trip ends. In the unfortunate event of an accident resulting in an injury during a trip, driver-partners and riders will have access to the following benefits:

    Medical cover: If an accident happens On-Trip, this cover reimburses driver-partners and riders for necessary medical treatment costs up to NGN 600,000. In addition, this cover reimburses ground ambulance service costs up to N20,000.

    Death and Funeral payment: In the unfortunate event that a driver-partner or rider dies as a result of an accident On-Trip, their dependants or heirs will benefit from a lump sum payment of N2 million. Additional N100,000 to cover funeral expenses will be reimbursed.

    Permanent Disability: In the unfortunate event that a user suffers a permanent disability as a result of an accident On-Trip, they will benefit from a lump sum payment of up to N2 million (the amount depends on the severity of the disability).

    Daily Payment Benefit (injury): If a driver-partner is hospitalised for more than 24 hours as a result of an accident that happened On-Trip and are thereafter unable to drive because of those injuries, they will receive a daily payment of N1,000 for up to 30 days whilst they are medically certified by a doctor as unfit to conduct their transportation business.

    The Injury Protection cover has been tailored specifically for those on the road, building on the security available through the Uber app and ensuring a safer ride during every journey booked through the Uber app.

    This is an innovative and first of its kind solution for driver-partners and riders using technology apps across Nigeria.

  • Kia, Hyundai recall 500,000 cars

    Hyundai and Kia have added more than a half-million vehicles to string of recalls in United States for engine failures and fires.

    Three recalls released last Thursday by the government add new problems and vehicles to the Korean automakers’ list of safety woes, which have brought hundreds of complaints about fires from across the nation.

    The companies have now recalled nearly 2.4 million vehicles for fire and engine failure problems since September of 2015, and they are under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for potentially being slow to fix faulty vehicles.

    In addition, the companies are doing a “product improvement campaign” covering another 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars into a reduced-speed “limp” mode if problems are detected.

    The largest of three recalls posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website on Thursday covers nearly 379,000 Kia Soul small Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) from 2012 through 2016 with 1.6-liter engines.

    Documents show that high exhaust gas temperatures can damage the catalytic converters, which control pollution. That can cause abnormal combustion and damage pistons and connecting rods. A failed connecting rod can pierce the engine block and cause oil leaks that can cause fires.

    In addition, Hyundai and Kia are recalling 152,000 Tuscon SUVs from 2011 to 2013 and Sportage SUVs from 2011 and 2012 to fix an engine oil pan leak that also can cause fires.

    Documents show that Kia had been investigating fires in Souls after the non-profit Center for Auto Safety petitioned the government to look into the fires last year. In November, the automaker couldn’t find any safety problem trends but it kept monitoring repair data and found the problem with the catalytic converters.

    All Souls with 1.6-liter engines made from July 8, 2011 through August 11, 2016 are being recalled. Dealers will replace a computer that prevents the catalytic converter from overheating. They will also replace the catalytic converter and the engine if they have been damaged. Letters will be mailed to owners starting April 12.

    Hyundai, which is affiliated with Kia, also has models with 1.6-liter engines. But spokesman Jim Trainor said they are different from the Soul with different control software. Kia spokesman James Bell said he would check into the other models.

    In the Tuscon and Sportage recall, the fix for the oil pan problem is still being developed. Hyundai owners will be notified starting March 29, while Kia owners will get letters starting April 10.

    In a letter to the U.S legislators mailed Wednesday, the Centre for Auto Safety asked for congressional action to hold Hyundai and Kia responsible for failing to repair millions of fire-prone vehicles. The centre said the government has more than 300 Hyundai-Kia fire complaints, which is high compared with similar vehicles, adding: “The better-late-than-never recall of Kia Souls hopefully will remedy this fire-causing defect,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the centre. Yet one has to wonder why Kia’s initial reaction was to deny the validity of our petition, particularly as there were dozens of reports of fires involving these vehicles all the way back to last summer.”

    Levine said Kia denied fire problems with the Soul and he questioned why the company is resisting recalls of other vehicles that are prone to fires.

    In one recall document, NHTSA wrote that it had scheduled a meeting with Hyundai to discuss the fire and engine failure investigation, but the meeting had to be cancelled due to the partial government shutdown. The documents don’t say whether it has taken place since the 35-day shutdown ended.

    A NHTSA spokeswoman said the agency has communicated with both automakers since the government reopened. Documents in the latest round of recalls don’t mention whether there have been any fires or injuries.

    In January, Kia said it had six reports of fires among vehicles being recalled for possible fuel leaks, while Hyundai said it had no fire reports. Neither company had any reports of injuries.

    Levine has said fire complaints to NHTSA have come from across the country, including a death in Ohio in April of 2017.

  • Drivers, rain is coming

    AS the rainy season is approaching now, I would like to re-iterate some vital points to enhance safety on Nigeria roads. Drivers must remind themselves of the factors that affect friction (lack of friction leads to skidding and road crashes).

    • The road surface -The smoother the road surface, the lesser the friction coefficient during the rainy season.

    There are several deep potholes on the roads which drivers can misconstrue. Always drive slowly on such roads.

    • During the rainy days, many roads will be flooded with waters. Drivers must therefore bear in mind the principle of hydroplaning before driving during the rainy season.
    • Condition of the tyre – It is very disheartening that some drivers still use second hand and worn out tyres even on inter-state trips. Drivers must know that their tyres may be having high friction on dry road surface but this is not so on wet road surface. Drivers must opt for new tyres with good treads as the rainy season is approaching (and at all times). You may bribe your way with the road traffic officers but remember the lives at risk.
    • Drivers must avoid over- speeding. It is not necessarily a speed above the 100kph speed limit. It is actually any speed above what the road condition permits though still under the speed limit. It must always be noted that the higher the speed, the lesser the friction.
    • The temperature of tyre is also a significant factor since after rainfall, there will be sunshine. Drivers must not over-inflate their tyres (Higher tyre pressure will lessen the friction). They must also manage their brake system and speed to avoid heating up the tyre temperature because the co-efficient of friction will decrease when the temperature of the tyre increase. Apart from poor friction, drivers could also experience tyre blowout with an increase in the tyre temperature.
    • Overloading of vehicle is another factor that can lessen the friction, particularly when it rains. This is because the law of kinetic energy will surely come to play.
    • Preventive maintenance must be carried out on vehicles before the raining season sets in. There are some commercial vehicles that the roofs are so bad that you will need an umbrella to avoid being soaked inside the vehicle. All the vehicles that are not rain-friendly should be taken to the workshop for immediate repairs in the interest of comfort and safety.
    • Whenever it rains, drivers must increase the following distance from two seconds to four seconds because it will take a longer time and distance for the vehicle to stop when the brake is applied.
    • Construction companies must not make the road surface to be too smooth. Road surface must be friction-friendly.

    Research has revealed that there are usually more crashes and other road traffic problems during the rainy season than the dry season.

    This is the reason why I am using this medium to sound a very loud warning to all categories of drivers and vehicle owners that “Drivers Beware”. While we are appealing to all levels of government to repair the bad roads and construct more essential roads, “Drivers Beware.

    A stitch in time saves nine.

  • KIA appoints Kamlik Motors as dealer

    Kia Motors Nigeria has announced a new partnership with Kamlik Motors Limited to further expand its market reach and ease of access to teeming customers.

    The dealership agreement will facilitate bringing Kia closer to the people in Kaduna and its environs.

    In addition to bringing to the foray, vehicles that deliver best-in-class features and affordable price for value, the vision of KIA is to bring its world-class facilities closer to its customers and offer a model range of vehicles that meet their dreams and aspirations.

    The appointment of Kamlik Motors in Kaduna, Kia Motors Nigeria Vice President Mr. Olu Tikolo, said is aimed at keeping pace with consumers’ evolving wants and needs to remain competitive.

    Speaking on the partnership, Tikolo said: “this joint venture with Kamlik Motors is an important step in our expansion plans for the Nigerian market. Finding the right partners to work with in satisfying our customers is very vital to us. We are delighted to work with the experienced team of Kamlik Motors and are confident that our customers and automobile enthusiasts will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this relationship.”

    Kamlik Motors Limited Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Alhaji Mohammed Ndakogi,said: “our relationship with Kia Nigeria is in furtherance of our corporate mission to provide customers with quality vehicles and services. We constantly seek ways to exceed our customers’ expectations and we believe this partnership will give us the opportunity to do just that.”