The flying vehicles on Nigerian roads

The second is that as you read this piece we have barely 24hours or more to cross over to the Ember months and there is the urgent need to treat the ember months like we are treating Ebola. Thus, I have a responsibility like my brother the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu is doing […]

The second is that as you read this piece we have barely 24hours or more to cross over to the Ember months and there is the urgent need to treat the ember months like we are treating Ebola. Thus, I have a responsibility like my brother the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu is doing over Ebola, to alert us as we gradually enter this very busy period that is characterized by increased vehicular traffic and attendant road traffic crashes as a result of bad driving or should I say irresponsible road usage .The other reason is to alert you on the commencement of the flying ticket campaign by the Corps to address some of these increasing trends as a strategy to checkmate crashes and achieve the 2014 strategic goals of the Corps aimed at reducing road traffic crashes by 15percent and fatalities by 25percent.
 I know I have written severally on speed but I am particularly interested in this topic because of the readiness of the Corps to commence a special campaign tagged, flying tickets. So if you are of those who take delight in speeding above the approved speed limit, you should take special attention to this piece.
 As stated earlier, the thrust of the work by my friend was to conduct a survey of the average speed of various categories of vehicles on Nigerian roads as part of the fallout on the launch of the speed limiting devices on commercial vehicles operators in Nigeria in October, 2013.In doing this, a survey on the national average speed was carried out in five selected routes across the country. In the write up, Speed was defined as the rate of change of distance per unit time (1), or distance covered per unit time. It is a scalar quantity which means it has magnitude but not in any specific direction unlike acceleration, a vector quantity which has both direction and magnitude.
The issue of speed according to him, has been identified by WHO as a key risk factor in road traffic crashes, influencing both the risk of a crash as well as the severity of the injuries that result from crashes. In fact, WHO and the Global Road Safety Partnership he further states, recommended that speed limiter be introduced in every country as part of the global strategy to cut down road fatalities. Developed countries such as Canada, United States and Britain have since adopted the compulsory use of speed limiter/governor as a means of eliminating speed related road traffic crashes on their roads.
Excessive speed  on the other hand was defined as exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast under stipulated or normal conditions. Speeding is deemed to have occurred when an individual is travelling above the accepted legal speed limit on any road. Excessive speeding is therefore defined as exceeding the legal and permissible speed limit while inappropriate speed is defined as driving at a speed unsuitable for the prevailing road and traffic conditions. Excess and inappropriate speeds are responsible for a high proportion of the mortality and morbidity that result from road crashes. In some low and middle income countries, speed is estimated to be the main contributory factor to about fifty percent of all crashes. Excessive speed decreases drivers’ response time in an event, and may increase the risk of a crash. It equally reduces the ability to manoeuvre safely on the road, and extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle. This is because, the higher the speed of a vehicle, the longer the time a driver has to stop and avoid a crash. The speed of vehicles in relations to certain parameters such as the condition of the road, whether dry or wet, the weight of your vehicle, and the effect of gradient of the road are related to stopping distances of vehicles. The higher the speed, the heavier the distances of vehicles, the higher the gradient and the wetness of the road surface, the higher the stopping distances and the risk of getting involved in road traffic crashes.
 A research conducted by a french Institute APTH (Association pour la Prévention des risquesliés aux Transports d’Hydrocarbures) reveal that stopping distance of a vehicle moving at 35 km/ph is 9.7 m and when this speed is doubled, the usual assumption is that the stopping distance is also doubled to 19.4 m. But, in reality the stopping distance is quadrupled at a magnitude of 36.8 m. Wet road surface also present a different scenario on stopping distance as the same vehicle moving at 70 km/ph on dry road has a stopping distance of 36.8 m compared to 71.9 m on wet surface, almost double the distance of dry road. Weight has effect on stopping distance of vehicle. Two vehicles of 1.5 tonnes and 38 tonnes moving at 70 km/ph have a stopping distance of 45.8 m and 71. 9 m respectively, which means the lighter vehicle, of course, has shorter stopping distance. The stopping distance of a vehicle moving at 30 km/ph on 0% gradient is 33m which increased to 56 m on a gradient of 9 % (4). It is evident from the above analysis that bringing a vehicle to stop safely has relationship with the speed of vehicles.
His report cited the RTC data of the year 2012 in Nigeria that shows a total of 14,783 road traffic crashes involving 22,071 vehicles in Nigeria that killed 6,573 people and injured 40,683 with speed violation accounting  for the highest causative factor of 35 per cent, followed by loss of control and dangerous driving at 17% each. The other stated leading factors are also speed related. I have written severally on this and on the plan by the Corps to commence the enforcement of speed limiters on vehicles starting first with commercial vehicles. Series of stakeholders meetings have been held but because road traffic crashes are not viewed as deadly as Ebola, most motorists indulge in this deadly habits encouraged by commuters who take delight in transporters who indulge in excessive speeding without a thought on their safety
 If this write-up sounds very academic, please forgive me but blame it on my Ph.D colleague who must justify his prowess in research methodology and all the research theatrics. Even if you are not following his grammer kindly pay heed to the lesson which is that if you love speeding then be prepared to be issued with a flying ticket. Did you ask me how it will work? Do read on and you will grab the meat and bones of this unique campaign that should in our opinion humble some die hard speak freaks on our roads. The aim of his focus once again was to survey the average speed of various categories of vehicles on some Nigerian roads as a plank for reducing crashes caused by excessive speeding. It therefore included ascertaining the speeds of vehicles on certain Nigerian roads at different times of the day, the level of compliance by the drivers to legal speed limits and to evolve strategies that will force down speed and consequently reduce speed induced crashes on the roads.
 Top on the roads that were surveyed were the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Lokoja Expressway, 9th Mile-Obollo Afor Highway, Benin-Asaba-Onitsha Expressway and  Akwanga-Lafia Highway. These corridors remain highpoints whenever the issues of crashes are being discussed by the Corps. Even the ongoing operation shield aimed at bringing down crashes which began on Monday 25 to 29 August is focused on the same routes with speed, overloading and lane discipline as the focus.