Protecting vulnerable road users: Lessons from Freetown

When we touched down after   about two hours plus flight on Arik , the International Airport initially did not excite me . But after the airport formalities, Freetown caught my attention and immediately won my admiration. From the airport, we boarded a vehicle and drove for about three hours from Lungi where the airport is […]

When we touched down after   about two hours plus flight on Arik , the International Airport initially did not excite me . But after the airport formalities, Freetown caught my attention and immediately won my admiration. From the airport, we boarded a vehicle and drove for about three hours from Lungi where the airport is situated to Freetown. As   we drove on the Portloko highway, I just couldn’t but express my admiration and excitement at the things I saw that would attract any first time visitor to Freetown like me. Despite the small size of Sierra Leone; six million plus with its tropical, hot and humid climate, Freetown   is worth visiting. One of the highlights of Freetown is the massive   road development that is almost comparable to what will you find in Abuja, Uyo or in Lagos or major highways where government is busy upgrading the roads.
.But while we daily cry foul over roads that are constructed without the appropriate road signages, the roads from the airport to the town are well adorned with all the necessary road signs including edge markings that are rarely seen on our major highways .Apart from the signages that would delight any frequent or first time  traveler, Freetown gives great hope not just to the needs of road users but recognizes the necessity of the Pillar Four of the United Nations Decade of Action;  Safer roads and Mobility which emphasizes on the need to improve safety of the road networks for the benefit of all road users especially most vulnerable; pedestrians, bicyclists and motor cyclist. As if responding to the concern of Osita Chidoka who on several occasions has called for calming measures to cut down on deaths especially deaths involving  vulnerable road users, the roads are well adorned with  speed breakers in all the built up areas along the highway from the airport.
 Besides this, Freetown towers high in the strategy to check excessive speeding. I know   the maximum speed of 100km/ph for private cars on our expressway and 90km/ph for taxis and buses as contained in the Highway Code and in the relevant traffic regulations especially the 2012 National Road Traffic Regulations. Unfortunately, when you drive on most, if not all of our major roads with the exception of the ones in cities like Abuja, Lagos, and Uyo, rarely do you find speed posted appropriately as a guide to travelers? Freetown however makes a great exception in this direction.
 Another highlight of the meeting and my trip to Freetown was the road safety passion exhibited by people with disability. Led by the Chairman of the Sierra Leonean Union for Disability, Kabba Bangura, they raised concern for people with disability and the need for increased awareness for citizens on road safety. As participants, they demonstrated commitment as they sat all through the meeting making valid contributions on how to cut crashes and reduce the number of disability persons arising from road crashes.
 Despite all of the good things about Freetown , it has its own fair share of  the bad and the ugly as the roads were littered with police check points sometimes barricaded with woods . Overloaded vehicles that would remind you of what we see on some of our roads were seen as we drove. And in the city, Freetown announced the nuisance value of Okada-commercial motorcyclists whose mannerisms are typical of what you will find in any Nigerian city or town.
Despite these few minuses, I must say that the examples of the safety infrastructure in Freetown raises optimism that the technical assistance being offered by the Federal Road Safety Corps for the establishment of a Lead Agency in Sierra Leone will certainly yield fruits soon based on what I saw. In fact, deliberations at the WARSO meeting were a pointer to this. This perhaps explains the excitement of   the Corps Marshal who recalled the General Assembly meeting of the Organization held in Freetown four years ago and  noted, ‘that we are here again for the Executive meeting is a reaffirmation of the commitment of the Sierra Leoneans for the success of WARSO programme in the country. Moreso , the prominence that the government gives to issues of road safety in the governmence of the Country is evidenced by the role that the Sierra Leonean Road Transport and Safety Authority plays in driving road safety programme in the Country.
He equally expressed delight that WARSO and the West African Sub region has been chosen to actualize the dream for Africa with particular reference to rendering technical assistance to other sub regions in setting up road safety groupings, which is in line with the objectives of WARSO.