Every year over 39,000 Nigerians die from road crashes

By Onyinyechi Ugwoke & Jumoke Fakomi

It’s Global Road Safety Week.

In 2018, the World Health Organization estimated road fatalities in Nigeria at 39,802. Nigerians are dying needlessly from road accidents.

Road traffic accidents are often attributed to the bad road network, poor road infrastructure, and faulty vehicles and over speeding. Accidents are not a big deal anymore – it’s the number of casualties that’s more concerning.

But what has become more troubling is that road traffic accidents are now the leading killer of children and young people aged 05 – 29 years. A road traffic death is three times more likely to occur in low-income African countries.

Sadly, many of these deaths are preventable. Sarah Adeyemi, a motorist says, “We should not be killed in our country for lack of organization. No dedicated lanes for big trucks, Nigerians are dying in droves over road accidents. Government should remove tankers and trucks from plying the same lane as smaller vehicles.”

The Q1 2020 road transport data reflected that 23,070 persons were involved in accident crashes. It claimed 1,758 lives, 11,250 persons sustaining injuries.

The Covid lockdowns and restrictions on travel impacted accident figures in Q2 2020. 2,080 road crashes were recorded – a total of 5,535 Nigerians injured, 855 were killed, and 11,033 persons were involved in the road traffic crashes.

Q3 2020 road transport data lists 3,066 crashes, and a total of 1,236 Nigerians died with 4,893 vehicles involved in road crashes.

Speed Violation is the major cause of road crashes. Other causes of road traffic crashes include reckless driving, mechanical faults, tire-burst, brake failures, bad roads, route violation, overloading, driving under the influence, and use of phones while driving.

Road accidents occur more on dilapidated roads, littered with crater-sized potholes and gullies. At such points, over-speeding-reckless drivers lose control of their vehicles resulting in deadly accidents, especially at night. The roads are then repaired after they have caused many fatal crashes.

Lagos State, a commercial nerve center and a heavily motorized urban area, has the highest accidents and casualties per population. Ineffective road planning systems, vehicle misuse, inappropriate street parking, traffic congestion, are contributing factors.

From January to May 2021, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) recorded accidents from falling oil tankers and trucks, tanker explosions, vehicle accidents caused by reckless driving and mechanical faults.

Thousands die from road crashes every year, especially young persons under forty. But these accidents are undoubtedly on the list of preventable deaths. It is the duty of leaders and citizens to do more to reduce the deaths and injuries on our roads. We will be saving more of our young people who are needed to power the economic development of our country.