High Rate of Accidents And Lessons From Ocholis Death.

The news of the death of the Minister of State for Labour and
Employment, Mr James Ocholi (SAN), his wife and son in a ghastly
road accident is heart-rending and has left a bad taste in the
mouths of many Nigerians. Since the incident on Sunday, 6
March, 2016, there have been outpourings of condolences from
Nigerians of all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. Political
divides have been bridged in public demonstration of grief. And
there has been no shortage of eulogies.
Sadly, it was also reported that 18 persons also lost their lives in
yet another road crash on the Bauchi-Jos road on Sunday, 6
March, 2016, the same day the minister died. And on Tuesday, 8
March, in a period of two days, another reported accident claimed
the life of an army general, Major-General Yushau Abubakar,
along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road. Major-General Abubakar was
until his death the Head of Training and Operations of the Nigerian
army.
Fatalities occur on Nigerian roads every day, and many go
unreported. Had this been between the months of September and
December, we would have been quick to attribute them to the
ember months syndrome, believed to be characterized by a
whirlwind of activities and, perhaps, with spiritual overtones. Now
that we are well away from the ember months and their spooks
and vampires, we can safely conclude that there is something
fundamentally the matter. A moment of reflection then becomes
necessary to assess our system and conduct.
All accidents are caused; and where there is a cause, there must
be an effect. The causes of accidents are numerous and cannot
be exhausted in this piece; but one factor which must not be
overlooked is the attitude of our drivers, especially commercial
drivers and drivers of government vehicles, who are known for
their heedlessness of traffic rules and regulations.

To a greater degree, government convoys and money-van escorts

have become infamous for recklessness and wanton disregard for
other road users. Not only do they overspeed as they weave their
way through, they shoo away other road users with sirens and
horse whips. The blatancy, the crassness, the impunity with which
they do so is simply revolting. Even in lesser democracies, this
bald-faced abuse of position and privilege is an oddity. Instances
abound in which these flagrant excesses have led to accidents.
Incidentally, it has been established that the more a vehicle
overspeeds, the greater the chances and severity of a crash.
Tyre blowouts are also a common cause of road crashes, as we
have witnessed in the past few days. It is important to know that
driving very far very fast, especially in hot weather, can cause a
tyre to get very hot and exceed its temperature rating, leading to
a blowout. An over-inflated, under-inflated, expired or worn-out
tyre also heightens the risk of an accident.
Meanwhile, experts advise motorists to resist the temptation to
apply the brakes swiftly, in the event that a tyre bursts at top
speed. Doing so, they warn, will almost always result in a
somersault. They advise that the gear should be disengaged
instead, and the steering held firmly under control with both
hands, until the vehicle decelerates to a safe speed at which the
brakes can then be applied.
Mention must also be made of the state of some of our roads. A
journey to Benin through the Ijebu Ode-Ore road recently was, to
say the least, a nightmarish experience. Even at speeds as low as
10 Km per hour, chances are, your bones can be shaken loose. All
along the road, accident scenes were commonplace owing to the
deplorable state of the road. It is appalling that such a highway,
and many others, of such strategic importance has been left in
total disrepair. Yet we have had successive democratic
governments over the years.

The elite travel mostly by air. With rail transport not fully
operational and uncommon, road travel becomes the cheapest
alternative for over 80% of Nigerians. The trunk roads therefore
witness a large volume of traffic, and the high level of dilapidation
becomes a risk factor. It will therefore be a bad decision to ignore
the state of the roads, if efforts must be made to curb the high
rate of accidents.