The Nation Newspaper

Tag: road accidents

  • Four students die in Edo road accident

    Four students of the College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State were Friday killed in a road accident.

    The accident occurred at kilometre 12 along Benin-Sapele-Warri express road.

    It was learnt the students were going to Delta State to attend the funeral ceremony of a grandmother of one of their colleague.

    Three died on the spot while one among the five injured died at the Benin Central Hospital.

    One of the victims who gave his name as Collins said they were 14 inside the vehicle including the driver.

    Collins said they had a burst tyre which made the vehicle to somersault.

    Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Mr. Luka Ikpi who confirmed the accident attributed it to over speeding and loss of control.

    He said three persons died and five injured were rescued and taken to the hospital.

    Meanwhile, a primary six pupil of Emokpa Primary School along Upper Forestry road was also Friday electrocuted.

    The pupil was said to be picking dirt’s as a punishment for coming late to school when he mistakenly held onto an exposed wire.

    Witnesses said the wire was cut-off by a wind that accompanied the recent rain.

    The body has been deposited at a mortuary but police spokesman, DSP Moses Eguaveon could not be reached for comments.

  • 12 die in Jigawa, Kano road accidents

    TEN people died yesterday and 12 others injured in an accident involving two buses at Sada village, Kazaure Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

    It was gathered that the buses collided and six people, including a two-year-old boy, died instantly.

    The state commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Malam Muhammad Gidado Fari, said his men took the victims to the Kazaure General Hospital.

    According to him, one of the vehicles was coming from Daura and the other one from Kano. Fari attributed the accident to reckless driving.

    In Kano State, two women officers of the State Hisbah Commission died yesterday in an accident on Gada Biyu Road in Tudun Wada Local Government Area.

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said 12 passengers were on board a Toyota Hiace bus, which belongs to the government.

    FRSC Sector Commander Garba Ibrahim said 10 passengers were injured and were taken to Tudun Wada General Hospital. The bodies have been deposited at the mortuary.

  • ‘Road accidents cause 1.24 million deaths yearly’

    No fewer than 1.24 million road accidents occur yearly, the United Nations Global Road Safety report has shown.

    Out of this figure, 92 per cent is from developing countries, including Nigeria.

    But how to reduce the figure was the focus of a two-day capacity building workshop organised by Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) in collaboration with Arrive Alive Road Safety Initiative (AARSI in Abeoukuta, Ogun State.

    The workshop tagged ‘Traffic managements brought together over 60 Corp members who were trained on conflict management, risk management, management safety and engineering measure, principles of equality, diversity and general standard of conduct of traffic police by a United Kingdom based Potab Consulting and Research Ltd.

    Speaking at the event, Ogun State Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle said new lease of life for socio-economic development is not without its attendant challenges adding that the state is now open to business and must be prepare for the influx of people and vehicular traffic.

    This, she said, requires effective and efficient management and adequate machinery for the safety of lives and properties on the road.

    Mrs Adekunle cited a UN Global Status report on road safety from 182 countries, which indicates that the total number of road traffic death worldwide remains unacceptably high at 1.24million yearly.

    Adekunle added that only 28 per cent countries covering 7 per cent of the world’s population have comprehensive road safety laws on five key risks factors – drinking, speeding, failing to use helmets, seat belts and child restraints.

    She said traffic officers must positioned themselves to be equipped with the required knowledge and put the state on the positive side of the fact.

    Corps Commandant and Chief Executive Officer of TRACE, Ayo Sangofadeji, who indentified various challenges facing traffic control officers in the country called for in-depth analyses on managing road traffic in a developing economy like Nigeria.

    Sangofadeji said: “The institutions have created conflict and crises and the traffic managers are called to curb it and must do it to the best of their knowledge.

    “There are certain obvious institutional failure beginning from drivers’ licence, funding agencies with the right equipment, yet the authority want the best from the agencies.”

    He lamented that Nigeria society has got a culture of impunity.

    The Executive Secretary, Arrive Alive Road Safety Initiative, Mr Ike Okonkwo, said the workshop was carried out to strengthen the efforts of traffic officers in the state to reduce crashes.

    We commended the various efforts made by TRACE in reducing road crashes in the state, saying: “Lagos, Kwara and Ogun states have become a model on efficient service delivery in traffic management in Nigeria which can be better when best practices across the world are upheld.”

  • Preventing road accidents

    However, i challenge the stakeholders and other well-meaning Nigerians to do more unbiased research and investigation on this very issue to properly understand the need for this suggestion which I strongly believe will go a long way in drastically reducing road accidents and fatalities as well as enhance the standards of driving schools that will be properly positioned to comply with the set standards.

    •The mindset (perception) of drivers on the use of roads should be properly addressed and adequately restructured to promote safety on the roads.

    •The focus of drivers training should be further diversified from driving skills to include the perceptual, cognitive, motivational and attitudinal factors which can greatly exert on drivers behaviour, influence their judgment and decision-making. There is also the need to develop a road etiquette as well.

    •The focus on the use of high fines to prevent reckless driving may not be very effective because majority of traffic offenders believe that they are not likely to be caught.

    • However, drivers should be made to take more responsibility for what is occurring on the roads. This will be more effective than slamming ridiculously high fines on traffic offenders.

    •All Categories of Drivers and Vehicle Owners must be made to undergo regular refresher courses because peer influence in driving cannot be over looked. There is always the tendency for those obeying traffic rules to renege and imitate the errant Drivers.

    •Public and private sector organisations must be encouraged or compelled to regularly train their drivers because of the level of irreparable lives and properties being lost through driver errors and allied factors.

    •Insurance companies should have incentives such as discount on premiums for individuals and organisations that sponsored their Drivers for re-training programmes. This will encourage driver training and development for accident prevention. This has been very effective in countries like United States.

    •As governments and non-governmental organisations have been focusing on the campaign against HIV/AIDS, they should focus even more attention on the campaign against Road Accidents which is killing more people than HIV/AID and at a faster rate.

    •There should be no sacred cows or VIPs in the enforcement of road traffic laws and regulations.

  • How to prevent road accidents

    How to prevent road accidents

    Without doubt, the rate of road crashes and fatalities is still high in Nigeria despite the laws and activities of the various governments and their agencies. There is, therefore, an urgent need to unbiasely look into the reasons and take proactive actions to arrest the growing monster. I hereby proffer the following as workable approaches to stem the devastating tide.

    •That Driver Safety Training should be more intensive than it used to be in Nigeria. This has become expedient because most of the drivers did not go through the conventional driving schools.

    •Re-training of drivers, including the drivers of own-vehicles, should be compulsory even if it is not as regular as expected.

    •The Federal and state governments and their traffic Agencies should not be involved in the training and re-training of drivers. Rather, they should concentrate on traffic law enforcement. I am not saying this out of any selfish motive events in Nigeria is justifying this approach every passing day. For example, I witnessed the training programme of a government agency for drivers. We were about 50 in the class. At the end of the training programme, the instructors (officers of the agency) gave all the trainees (drivers) their telephone numbers to call for help whenever we’re arrested for any traffic offense by their fellow officers. This is the common practice among the officers of government traffic agency as an appreciation for participation in their training programmes. In actual fact, they have only succeeded in making the trainees become fearless, ready to break traffic laws and ready to be disobedient to traffic officers because they already have the numbers of those that can prevent them from facing the full wrath of the law. I personally tried it and it worked. No wonder, the training programmes by the government agencies have not been yielding the desired reduction in the rate of road accidents significantly.

    •Rather than taking up the re- training of drivers because of the monetary gains, they should focus mainly on the training and empowerment of driving school instructors that will be charged with the responsibility of training and re-training the drivers, enact and strictly enforce the traffic laws and regulations as well as properly handle traffic management for free flow of traffic and compliance. Let’s face the facts. How easy is it for any government agency to arrest, prosecute or fine drivers of companies that are paying them heavily on regular basis for the re-training of the same drivers?, The best practice which is even in operation in the United Kingdom, which is renown for Safety Standard is the empowerment of driving Schools by the Government’s Road Safety Agency (DSA), to handle the foundational training and re-training of all categories of drivers of public and private sector organisations.

    It is the duty of the Government Road Safety and Traffic Management Agencies to set and enforce Standards for the Driving Schools as well as set and enforce traffic laws and regulations for Drivers. This promotes fairness and effectiveness in their operations.

    This particular suggestion may not go down well the concerned Government Agencies in charge of Road Safety and Traffic Management at the Federal and State Government levels because they don’t want to forfeit the income being generated from this business of re-training Drivers.

  • Preventing road accidents in Nigeria (2)

    This particular suggestion may not go down well with the government agencies in charge of road safety and traffic management at the Federal and state government levels because they don’t want to forfeit the income being generated from this business of re-training drivers.

    I, however, challenge the stakeholders and other well-meaning Nigerians to do more unbiased research and investigation on this issue to properly understand the need for this suggestion which, I strongly, believe will go a long way in drastically reducing road accidents and fatalities as well as enhance the standards of driving schools that will be properly positioned to comply with the set standards.

    •The mindset (perception) of drivers on the use of roads should be properly addressed and adequately restructured to promote safety on the roads.

    •The focus of drivers training should be further diversified from driving skills to include the perceptual, cognitive, motivational and attitudinal factors which can greatly exert on drivers behaviour, influence their judgment and decision-making. There is also the need to develop a road etiquette as well.

    •The focus on the use of high fines to prevent reckless driving may not be very effective because majority of traffic offenders believe that they are not likely to be caught.

    However, drivers should be made to take more responsibility for what is occurring on the roads. This will be more effective than slamming ridiculously high fines on traffic offenders.

    •All categories of drivers and vehicle owners must be made to undergo regular refresher courses because peer influence in driving cannot be over looked. There is always the tendency for those obeying traffic rules to renege and imitate the errant drivers.

    •Public and private sector organisations must be encouraged or compelled to regularly train their drivers because of the level of irreparable lives and properties being lost through driver errors and allied factors.

    •Insurance companies should have incentives, such as discount on premiums for individuals and organisations that sponsored their drivers for re-training programmes. This will encourage driver training and development for accident prevention in the country. This has been effective in countries such as the United States.

  • Preventing road accidents in Nigeria (2)

    This particular suggestion may not go down well with the government agencies in charge of road safety and traffic management at the Federal and state government levels because they don’t want to forfeit the income being generated from this business of re-training drivers.

    I however, challenge the stakeholders and other well-meaning Nigerians to do more unbiased research and investigation on this issue to properly understand the need for this suggestion which, I strongly, believe will go a long way in drastically reducing road accidents and fatalities as well as enhance the standards of driving schools that will be properly positioned to comply with the set standards.

    •The mindset (perception) of drivers on the use of roads should be properly addressed and adequately restructured to promote safety on the roads.

    •The focus of drivers training should be further diversified from driving skills to include the perceptual, cognitive, motivational and attitudinal factors which can greatly exert on drivers behaviour, influence their judgment and decision-making. There is also the need to develop a road etiquette as well.

    •The focus on the use of high fines to prevent reckless driving may not be very effective because majority of traffic offenders believe that they are not likely to be caught.

    However, drivers should be made to take more responsibility for what is occurring on the roads. This will be more effective than slamming ridiculously high fines on traffic offenders.

    •All categories of drivers and vehicle owners must be made to undergo regular refresher courses because peer influence in driving cannot be over looked. There is always the tendency for those obeying traffic rules to renege and imitate the errant drivers.

    •Public and private sector organisations must be encouraged or compelled to regularly, train their rivers because of the level of irreparable lives and properties being lost through driver errors and allied factors.

    •Insurance companies should have incentives, such as discount on premiums for individuals and organisations that sponsored their drivers for re-training programmes. This will encourage driver training and development for accident prevention in the country. This has been effective in countries like United States.

    •As governments and Non-governmental Organisations have been focusing on the campaign against HIV/AIDS, they should focus even more attention on the campaign against road accidents,which is killing more people than HIV/AID and at a faster rate.

    •There should be no sacred cows or VIPs in the enforcement of road traffic laws and regulations. Leaders or VIPs are expected to lead by example and anything contrary must be resisted vehemently.

    I further challenge the Federal and state Ministries of Transport, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) state traffic management agencies and other Stakeholders to come together in a result-oriented conference to deliberate on the above and other related issues with the aim of coming up with a common resolution to be implemented at the Federal and State levels to enhance the war against road crashes and fatalities. Otherwise, Nigeria will have little or nothing to show at the end of the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety come 2020 and the Accra Declaration on Road Safety having failed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing fatality rate through road safety. The goal of all and sundry in Nigeria should be to put the safety of lives far above income generation and stop every form of masquerading or pretence.

    There has been cases of these Federal and state governments Agencies, competing and blackmailing themselves in order to secure the contract for the training of the drivers of some blue-chip companies. Can we say their interest is in the drivers safety on the road or on financial gain?

    There was even a very funny development where one of the Government Agencies threatened to be arresting the Drivers of a blue chip company if they fail to give them the contract for the training of their Drivers. Is it not obvious now, where their interests are?

    The regulations guiding the operation of some of these agencies recognises the driving schools as the trainers of drivers (fresh and re-training).

    I am sure that if this matter is not properly addressed as suggested in this article, Nigeria will continue to move in circles in the war against road crashes and fatalities without making any meaningful impact.

    The National and state Assemblies must objectively rise up to this challenge to ensure that the relevant legislations are amended or enacted to address the issues raised in this article because if the right steps are not taken to efficiently and effectively address the road safety and road traffic engineering challenges, the consequences can affect anyone in Nigeria no matter the status because we and our loved ones all use the Nigeria roads at one time or the other.

  • Road accidents, leading cause of deaths in Nigeria – Shell MD

    The Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mutiu Sunmonu, has identified road accidents as the leading cause of death among 10 to 19-year olds in Nigeria.

    He also disclosed that Africa had the overall highest rate of preventable deaths, while unintentional injuries were the leading cause of childhood death, after the age of nine.

    Sunmonu spoke at the finals of the National Safety Quiz Competition and Awards Ceremony for Senior Secondary Schools, yesterday at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, organised by SPDC, in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    He noted that road accidents were also the leading cause of child disability, followed by drowning, burns, falls and poisoning, with lives being lost needlessly.

    Across Nigeria, 617 schools participated in the quiz, with Ebunoluwa international School, Ofatedo, Osun State, emerging first, followed by Community Secondary School, Ngwo-Uno, Enugu, while the third position went to Immaculate Conception School, Bauchi, with Miss Ifejesu Salam of Ebunoluwa School emerging the overall best candidate.

    The managing director of the Anglo/Dutch oil giant, who was represented by the company’s General Manager, Tony Attah, stated that road safety education at every level was necessary in improving the road safety scenario in Nigeria.

    The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, who was represented by a senior official of the ministry, Mrs. Ibrahin Nuhu, in her remarks at the occasion, said education was one of the important priorities of the Federal Government.

    The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Osita Chidoka, who was represented by the commission’s Assistant Corps Marshal, Zone 6, Yakubu Attah, said the scope of the Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority (TIMA-RIV) should be expanded.

    The National Chief Examiner of the safety quiz, Prof. Sarah Anyanwu, noted that the initiative by SPDC and FRSC had gone beyond a national competition, but part of nation building.

    The Rivers State Commissioner for Transport, George Tolofari, condemned indiscipline and lack of road safety consciousness among Nigerians, while warning motorists to avoid driving against traffic.

  • Over 100, 000 injured on roads daily

    Over 100, 000 injured on roads daily

    OVER 100,000 people are injured on roads across the world daily, experts have said.

    Also, no fewer than 4,000 people are killed through road accidents daily.

    These were part of the statements made by Steering Driving School and Nigerians Unite for Road Safety in Lagos.

    Addressing journalists on the World Day Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims which was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1993 to commemorate with the victims and sensitise road users on avoidable road crashes in the country, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Steering Driving School, Mr Samuel Akinfe, said the statistics were from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Akinfe urged governments at all levels to recognise the day.

    He maintained that there is a need for government to help people understand the reason for them to come together to celebrate the date.

    According to him, the school has concluded arrangements to mark it this year.

    The event would focus on devastating nature of road accidents.

    Also speaking, the former Military Governor of Ondo State, Rear Admiral Abiodun Olukoya, said it is unfortunate that many road users are not conscious of the signs on major roads.

    Olukoya regretted the issuance of drivers’ licence without following due process by the authority.

    He urged motorists to always concentrate while driving.

    The Lagos State Co-ordinator of the Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO), Mr Gbolahan Toriola enjoined road users to take precautions on the road and ensure they drive with care so as to avoid crashes on our roads.

    He called on the government use give the day to remember road traffic victims.