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Safety At Yuletide.

THE  ember months ushers in the Yuletide season, with  lots of safety  concern as a result of  the huge number of carnages recorded  on the roads. Although other months record accidents, it increases during the Yuletide due to large volume of people travelling on the roads. Statistics of road accidents in 2022 shows that approximately 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road crashes. More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

In the history of accidents in Nigeria, crashes soar in the months of September to December, probably because activities increase on Nigeria roads, especially for businesses and social events.Research has also showed that a lot of drivers ply the roads more than often, driving on top speed to meet up and make quick money.

ABOUT  80 per cent of road crashes are caused by human errors because most of the crashes are avoidable and preventable. A study revealed that, “Human factors, classifiable into driver performance and driver behaviour are responsible for most crashes.” Over and over again, road traffic officials have attributed the causes of accidents to over speeding and reckless driving., particularly among commercial drivers. Another issue involved is systemic, and this involves government’s insensitivity to the states of the roads. Bad roads contribute to the carnage in virtually all the states across the nation, though few states have better roads than others.

THE Hope states clearly that the government which is saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding the lives of its citizens, has a pivotal role to play in ensuring the roads are put in good condition,  so as to reduce carnage.

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WE  commend the Federal Government on its planned N100billion for Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA),   to mend federal roads . However, we suggest that each state of the federation should be given N1 billion out of the total amount  to fix the federal roads in their respective domains, while we beseech the state governments to endeavor to repair roads within their areas whether federal or states while mounting pressure on the federal government to refund money spent on Federal roads to respective states. This is because residents of the states are primary victims of road carnages.

ANOTHER major  cause of road crashes is the uncertified people who ply the roads. Many drivers got their licences through unofficial means, It is a known fact  that touts’ are in the habit of assisting some road users to obtain drivers license unlike what obtains in other climes where it is compulsory for every intending  road user to write examination before driving. The Hope, therefore, calls for a review of the licencing process.  In addition, there should be proper monitoring and checkmating of drivers’ recklessness on the roads, like it is done in most developed countries, in which drivers pay through their noses for failure to obey traffic rules.

MANY of the drivers, especially commercial operators, are also illiterates and ignorant of the traffic laws and safety rules . So, there is need for more education and sensitisation for motorists.. Possibly, there should be a gradual phase off of  illiterates and those who  could not understand the traffic laws and signs on the roads.

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THE 2023 elections campaigns will also increase vehicles on the roads, hence the  need to make traffic laws effective to checkmate excesses and recklessness of some road users  who drive like people on suicide missions.  If possible, every driver must be made to undergo psychiatric test, to know their mental  state. There is also the need to caution the excessiveness of drivers who drive in convoys and overtake other lanes headlong, which sometimes  result into a number of crashes. 

AS we move into the Yuletide season, we call on all and sundry to respect the inviolability of life. Citizens should avoid reckless driving and be mindful of the fact that every human life is sacred.  People should see the festive period as a continuation of  normal life, while drivers should be more conscious on the roads, and desist from taking alcoholic drinks, such as ‘pelebe,’ which intoxicates and diminishes their mental control.

THE  Hope, therefore, calls on the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), and other agencies, like the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), to increase their mobilization and be well alive to their responsibilities. Licensing officials fond of aiding and abetting motorists with illegal licences should also be sanctioned.

SECURITY and road traffic officials who use PoS to extort money from motorists on highways should be sanctioned too. Safety of motorists and passengers are very essential. Hence, the FRSC and VIO should work assiduously to ensure we have accident-free yuletide this year, or at least, reduce carnages to the barest minimum.

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