Ensuring Road Safety This Joyful Season – More than the next 2 weeks, Nigerians within their millions as well as different religious persuasions will be travelling to celebrate Christmas and the New Year along with their family members.
The empty properties and houses within the villages will, in this period, once more be filled with laughter and merriment.
The implication of the mass movement is that the roads, some of which are in terribly undesirable situation, will be forced to take on more heavy targeted traffic than usual. At the peak of it all, gridlocks will appear along main highways such as the Lagos-Ibadan, Lagos-Onitsha, Abuja-Lagos, Abuja-Enugu, Kano- Lagos and many other expressways across the nation. On some undesirable days, hold-ups may possibly turn into the order of the day, stretching for kilometres on finish. At places like Onitsha Bridge, the impending predicament can only be imagined. Beyond the man hours lost and the accompanying inconvenience, the possibility of accidents, many fatal, can not be ruled out.
Even at the best of instances and when there are no festivities, the nation nevertheless records a high rate of fatal accidents on its highways, or what pass for them. According to statistics by the World Well being Organisation (WHO), 20.5 out of every one hundred,000 folks die every single year as a outcome of road accidents, most of them below the age of 25. It would not be far-fetched to assume that 20 per cent of these accidents happen in December.
To stop the carnage, all hands have to be on deck to make sure that the figure is reduced significantly. The onus of duty in this regard lies first with the federal government, whose duty it is to make sure that the roads are in very good situation at all times. Its agencies, such as the Federal Road Security Commission (FRSC), accountable for road safety administration, must heighten their level of alertness at this time, to make certain that the highways are protected for all road customers. Since they are the face of government on these roads, it behoves them to suggest safety measures, which contain enhancing infrastructure that can support to eliminate or, at least, minimise accidents on the highways. But even far more importantly, we want point out, is the expansion of its public campaign on how to ensure discipline on the highways. It is also essential to tension that accidents, in most cases, do not just take place. Most of them are caused by human error, which implies that work must be concentrated on changing the mindset of the average Nigerian motorist, with regard to road usage, discipline and safety. FRSC, in our opinion, have to strive to meet these challenges by mobilising all its resources, guys and materials. In addition, it must situate ambulances in locations where there are none at the moment. We urge the Nigeria Police, other safety agencies and the whole populace to help in this work, which, we hope, will ensure an accident-free of charge yuletide.
Nigerian News from Leadership Newspapers
