The rate of road traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths is very high in Nigeria. The 2023 data released by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) showed that about 5,000 people died in road traffic crashes.
The report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that over 39,000 people died in road traffic crashes in 2023 in Nigeria. Although there is the disparity in the figures released by FRSC and WHO, we know who is correct and who is wrong.
This year, the FRSC released the data on traffic offenders, and it was mind-blowing as it revealed 614,051 persons arrested for road traffic offences in 2023.
For the FRSC, the record arrest is a record-breaking achievement. To me, I see the high figure of violators as a bad omen. It is clearly evident that too many people are either still ignorant of the Road Traffic Regulations and Road Rules or some are stubbornly disobeying the traffic laws, thereby constituting safety risks on our roads, hence the persistently high rate of road traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths. The higher the rate of road rule violations, the higher will be the rate of road traffic crashes.
It is worrisome that over 80 per cent of the current holders of Nigeria Drivers License do not know all the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations and the Nigeria Highway Code. Over 70 per cent got their driver’s license without undergoing the full theoretical and practical training sessions in driving schools. What we see on the roads today is trial-by-error driving, which has been the root cause of the high rate of traffic law violations and crashes.
The National Road Traffic Regulations (2012) clearly state that every driver (and rider) must undergo a minimum of nine hours of cumulative refresher training before the driver’s license can be renewed. The compromise in the enforcement of this law has further depleted the level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes of drivers, thereby earmarking Nigeria as one of the countries with the highest rate of road traffic crashes and also among the worst countries to drive in.
The high rate of compromise and corruption in traffic law enforcement is also another major cause of the high rate of traffic law violations and crashes.
The continuous loss of lives and properties on the road has viral effects on the country, its GDP, communities, families, and businesses, among others.
In order to quickly and effectively stem this dangerous tide, there is an urgent need for the federal, state, and local governments, ministries of works and transportation, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) as the lead agency in road safety administration, state government traffic agencies, the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (VIOs), driving schools, transport unions, NGOs and CSOs involved in road safety, the Institute of Driving Instructors of Nigeria, and other stakeholders in transportation and road safety to wake up to their responsibilities towards ensuring safer road infrastructure and safer road usage.
The aforementioned bodies and agencies can do better by ensuring that the right things are always done, strictly following rules and regulations governing road usage, and permitting the use of it, especially in making all vehicles roadworthy and issuing licenses to only fit drivers.
- Jide Owatunmise, Registrar/Chief Executive, Professional Driving and Safety Academy