ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY

Anthony Andem

The term safety has been defined and envisioned by many experts and authorities since the industrial revolution. Some authorities regard safety as the deliberate endeavor undertaken to promote specific precautionary measures against damages, injury or accident; to a vast majority of persons, the term safety has to do with precaution from injuries or accidents that could lead to disability or deformity on person, properties, environment etc.

Generally, road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured and cause damage to properties. Chief among these methods is the sign system. The information provided by the system of signs on most roads have helped to keep drivers mentally alert and provide them with the necessary “heads up” to enable proper management of their vehicular speed and stance while on the road. This system came up as a result of numerous road traffic accidents that were seen as the world’s largest public problem after the advent of vehicles; one writer popularly called the vehicle “the beast of burden” in referring to the number of lives lost from road traffic accidents. According to world health organization (WHO), more than 1million people were killed on the world’s road each year.

Let us explore some of the major causes of road accidents

EXCESSIVE SPEEDING: This primarily is driving above regulatory speed limits. Statistics from the Nigerian police and Federal road safety commission shows that excessive speeding is one of the (major) causes of road accidents, in view of which 100kilometers/per hour was recommended as the maximum speed limit on freeways. It must be noted however that excessive speed is a function of the type of road and part of the city in which the driving is taking place depending on the limits set by regulatory agencies for the different areas.
DANGEROUS OVERTAKING: Dangerous overtaking is a situation where overtaking is done in areas where clear visibility of the road ahead is not possible; such as hilly areas, bridges and sharp bends. Before overtaking, it is important to look whether the road ahead is clear and then consider if it is necessary before you do so.
INTOXICATION: A driver on drugs and intoxicants are very likely to get involved in an accident sooner or later because of impaired coordination and slow judgment, which makes them tend to disobey basic safety regulations and take unnecessary risks.
POOR DRIVING HABITS: Getting involved in any activity that would remove or lower the concentration of the driver from driving is a poor driving habit. This includes driving while reading, discussing with passengers, sheer careless, fatigue and making or responding to telephone call.
POOR CONDITIONS OF VEHICLES: Preventive maintenance of vehicle is very important. It eliminates one more reason for road traffic accident. Poor conditions of vehicles are characterized by worn out tyre, faulty brake systems, poor lighting system etc.

Besides mitigating the causes of road traffic accidents, the following precautions can be applied to further enhance safety on the road.

Use of seat belts: The use of safety sit belts has been reported to minimize the extent of injury whenever accidents occur.
Punishment of road traffic defaulters: Drivers who deliberately or brazenly disobey traffic rules should be severely punished.
Encouragement of good driving culture: In order to inculcate good driving culture and habit in the populace, drivers education should be incorporated into the normal school curriculum
Road crossings: Drivers should take extra care and vigilance when driving near areas with high pedestrian traffic like, schools, markets, churches, mosques, hospitals and shopping malls.
Familiarity with roads: Drivers should be very careful when driving on unfamiliar roads. Driving carelessly on unfamiliar roads is one of the most common causes of road traffic accidents

The following signs are important road traffic sign that will foster right behavior.