Road Safety
What is your agenda for the 2025 Ember Months? Do you have any? Do you even think about it? Do you have a travel plan or are you just counting days to hit the road for another Christman celebration. If you have never had a plan or agenda, I suggest you develop the habit of having an agenda. I am talking about a safety travel agenda especially for those freaky about traveling home for Christmas.
I know we have survived the first month of the EMBER Months which is September. The Ember months usually refer to the calendar months of September to December. These are the months during which higher incidence of avoidable road traffic fatalities and injuries occur due to several reasons.
One of the reasons is increased motorization due to the absence of an effective integrated transportation system responsible for the over reliance on road transportation. The second is unchecked irresponsible and reckless driving behavior that becomes more pronounced during this season.
Impatience and the, ‘Do you know who I am’, syndrome which is pronounced also is a problem. There is also the preponderance of vehicles that don’t meet minimum safety standards as well as compromises in enforcing strict traffic rules over time in the run up to the festive season, are also responsible.
I know we have survived September but did you read my concluding piece titled, ‘’Still on taming number pate criminals’’, where I listed the tragedies that befell operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps. Did you read the lamentation of the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed over these deaths. Five deaths all due to recklessness by drivers
If we were to do a holistic post mortem of just September that didn’t spare operatives of the Corps, I know the story would be as tragic too for other road users. So, except drivers tame their driving while safety professionals conduct themselves with great caution, these tragedies might occur again between October and December,2025
So, for those who treat safety with levity, please follow my guide on what your agenda should consider. For starters, know that speed thrills. But it also kills. The World Health Organization identifies excessive and inappropriate speed as the real deal. Checking your speed was my curtain raiser this year. Speed is at the core of the traffic injury problem.
According to WHO, speed influences both crash risk and crash consequences. The physical payout of the road and its surrounding can both encourage and discourage speed. However, crash risk increases as speed increases especially at road junctions and while overtaking.
A good number of road users are guilty of this even though we would rather blame the other driver for our errors. For the speed freaks, please note these truths; that the higher the speed of a vehicle, the shorter the time a driver has to stop and avoid a crash. A car travelling at 50km/h will typically require 1.3metres in which to stop, while a car travelling at 40km/h will stop in less than 8.5metres.
An average increased speed of1km/h is associated with a 3percent higher risk of a crash involving an injury. Travelling at 5km/h above a road speed limit of 65km/h results in an increase in the relative risk of being involved in a casualty crash that is comparable with having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05g/dl. For car occupants in a crash with an impact speed of 80km/h, the likelihood of death is 20times what it would have been at an impact speed of 30km/h.
It is because of the grave risk involved that countries including Nigeria set and post speed limit, because controlling vehicle speed can prevent crashes from occurring and reduce the impact with which they occur, thus lessening the severity of injuries sustained by the victim.
In Nigeria, the maximum speed on the express is 100km/h for private cars and 90km/h for taxis and buses while at built-up areas such as commercial and residential areas, the initial speed of 50km/h has now been reduced to 30km/h as promoted by the United Nations.
I do not know when last you visited your roadside vulcanizer or the professionals whose business is to service and also check alignment and wheel balancing. When you do, you will be stunned when the verdict will be that one or two of your tires is either incorrectly inflated, worn out or both.
I have told you severally that tyre bursts are dangerous killers. I also told you that excessive speed increases the risk of tyre burst due to the added stress and heat generated, potentially leading to a blowout. Meanwhile, tyre failure due to excessive speed is commonplace. Both excessive speed and tyre burst are dangerous, especially if the tyre which influences vehicle handling, braking, acceleration and overall stability are substandard.
Always remember that incorrect tyres pressures are the cause of tire blowouts. Again, let me repeat that incorrect tire pressure is the number one cause of tire blowouts, sudden tire failures and premature tire wear. Incorrect tire pressure is an invitation to disaster even if the tyres are brand new. It is a time bomb waiting for the right time to explode. The implication is that each time such a vehicle is driven, the occupants are facing grave dangers without being aware. Your priority is to ensure your tyres are standard tyres. Secondly you must also ensure that you do the needful such as avoiding incorrect tyre pressures responsible for tyre blowouts.
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