The road accident statistics for 2015 have been announced and the numbers are staggering again.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) made it known on Wednesday that 12,077 road crashes were recorded in 2015 and 65 percent of the crash victims lost their lives.
More disturbing is a World Health Organisation (WHO) rating that one in every four road accident deaths in Africa occurs in Nigeria.
The FRSC has suggested that these road accidents are preventable if speed can be checked. At the beginning of the year, the road service commission proposed the introduction of speed limiting devices to the House of Representatives.
Some members of the House kicked against the importation of “a device that has failed in many African countries”. They said the proposed cost of each device would be another burden on struggling Nigerians.
The FRSC, at the time, said the device would cost N36,000. According to the opposing members of the House, the speed limiting device technology is outdated and another attempt by some random manufacturer to rip off the entire nation by dumping a failed product on us.
These are all very valid points, considering how government bodies spend taxpayers money on technology that end up redundant.
On this one though, the FRSC was adamant until the House finally approved the policy. The speed limiting device is set to be made compulsory for commercial vehicles and trucks and the enforcement is set to commence on October 1.
That is less than a month from now and it is not yet known if any commercial vehicle drivers have purchased the device or even if they are available for sale yet.
The FRSC claims to have commenced sensitization on the use of the device but how much of this has been done? Can the FRSC safely say that a large majority of motorists are aware of the device and its usage?
As it is, there is uncertainty that the device can be fitted in a Tokunbo vehicle and the specific features it needs to function in a vehicle have been made clear to the public. Or is the FRSC assuming that most motorists get the idea?
It will be good to see a technology that works and is maintained as such in Nigeria. Hopefully, the FRSC will pull all of this off before the given commencement date.
What matters most is that we cannot continue to gamble with human lives, we need to find lasting and pragmatic solutions to road mishaps.
Your pop culture/entertainment go-to. Music head. Wallflower. I do not like to write. On a mission to decipher covfefe.
tComment: that solution is sensible. Expecially for commercial drivers like us.
Please i am an expirience driver i need a work.