Ensuring Safe, Accident Free Roads This Yuletide

Ensuring Safe, Accident Free Roads This Yuletide

By Uzoamaka Onwu

It is no more news that automobile accidents across the country have claimed thousands of lives annually and left hundreds with life threatening injuries.

The last four months of the year, which are September, October, November and December popularly known as Ember months, are seen as the periods when there is an alarming increase in road crashes across the country.

As Nigerians celebrate the Yuletide, people, are already worried and concerned about the spate of accidents on the roads.

This is because at this period several vehicles ply the roads. While commercial drivers are rushing to make more money for the festivities and journeys that come with the year’s end, others are trying to wrap up businesses and travel to their hometowns.

Many times, people also blame road crashes on bad road networks, and other negligible practices.

In a statistical analysis by the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, it shows that between January to September 2023, it recorded a total of 3,730 fatalities as against 4,848 in the same period in 2022.

This indicated a significant decrease achieved due to enhanced visibility on the highways, aggressive public education, broadened and expanded command structures, injection of more patrol, rescue and recovery vehicles into the operations of the Corps for prompt rescue services and speedy removal of obstructions, as well as deployment of men and logistics to areas previously uncovered.

Notwithstanding the success recorded, the need to apply caution on the road this season should be strictly upheld by motorists.

This is because a number of auto crashes have been traced to unethical behavior such as consumption of alcohol identified with the road users before and while driving.

Also, overnight journey is another life consuming practice common to most Nigerians especially among the business population who see the night time as the best way to travel, probably to manage time and cut costs.

In journeys of this nature, drivers and passengers are exposed to series of physical and emotional stress making them sleepy and rendering them incapacitated to maintain an efficient control of the vehicle.

Besides that, armed robbers and kidnappers prefer to carry out attacks on the highways at night when road users would be helpless.

Undoubtedly, economic losses arising from road crashes cost the nation a lot annually.

It has been reported that road accidents alone claim about 17% of the nation’s foreign reserves as part of efforts to drastically reduce to the minimal, the amplifying rate of road accidents annually, there is the need for urgent response and community sensitization on road accidents at the state level.

Ensuring road safety is a collective responsibility that should be taken seriously by all Nigerians.

The advent of android phones has made every Nigerian a photojournalist, as individuals rush to take photos during emergencies, instead of helping accident victims.

Road users should always obey traffic regulations and road signs such as traffic lights and instructional signals.

Many motorists, especially commercial drivers have paid little or no attention to these and by doing so, jeopardized their lives including those of innocent passengers on board.

As a matter of fact motorists should be made to understand that failure to obey traffic regulations and road signs is a criminal offence and offenders are made to face the consequences.

Road accidents can be prevented especially this period of mass exodus of people traveling by road to their hometowns to celebrate with their loved ones by taking simple precautions like being Vigilant when driving.

Never exceed the speed limit, commuters should be observant of the vehicles they board while travelling and don’t Drink and Drive.

Governments at all levels are as well expected to provide other factors that would reduce the rate of accidents on the Nigerian roads.

As often said “life has no duplicate”.

Edited By Grace Namiji