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SPEED MANAGEMENT AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION AMONG MOTORISTS IN LAGOS STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

The daily activities of human beings revolve around one form of transport or another. In essence, the social and economic activities of individuals involve, to a large extent, their movement from one place to another. The movement of people and goods from one place to another implies the use of different means of transport. Transport finds its use in the air, in (and, sometimes, in) water and land. Consequently, transportation infrastructure is very important for countries around the world in the search to advance their national and economic development. Land transport is grouped into 3 types, namely transport by pipes, transport by rail and road transport. Road transport is basically the most used of the three types mentioned above, which represent more than 70 percent of the movement of people and goods worldwide (IRTAD 2014). This is so, possibly because land transport is the closest to man as a result of its relative profitability and safety. Consequently, the vehicular movement has become a vital aspect of humanity, since it plays a key role in the economic activities of man. An example of this can be seen in transportation. of essential goods in trucks through huge ships and tanks that contain petroleum products (to mention just a few) from production or manufacturing sites to their end users. It goes without saying that the uncoordinated movements of such trucks sometimes affect the flow of vehicles and undermine the safety and welfare of the population. This, in turn, undermines human security and limits the achievement of national objectives. The burden of morbidity and mortality in developing countries such as Nigeria is increasing due to the combination of factors including rapid motorization, poor roads and speed infrastructure, as well as the behavior of road users. This contrasts with the technologically advanced countries where indices are shrinking. RTC has been identified as the eighth cause of death worldwide, and developing countries are the most affected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.3 million people die worldwide each year as a result of speeding accidents on the road. The WHO figures also indicated that five hundred (500) children die each day in traffic accidents worldwide. In fact, the road speed injury is among the four leading causes of death for all five-year-olds. To raise awareness of this mortal reality, Jean Todt, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the International Automobile Federation and the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of Road Safety of the UN, addressed the world-renowned film director ...Luc Benson to deliver a potent message through a movie on the incredible dangers children face when crossing the road (Udodiong, 2016).

Also according to WHO Chief, Margaret Chan „„road speed fatalities take an unacceptable high toll, particularly on poor people in poor countries‟‟ (WER) The lack of adequate security laws, inadequate infrastructure and poor enforcement in low and middle income countries account for 90% of road deaths in the world. The economic costs of these countries amount to almost $ 100 billion a year (Khazan, 2013).

According to Bauer (2015), countries such as Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt, India, Vietnam, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico and Cambodia are responsible for almost half of all road deaths, reports Bloomberg Philanthropies. India has the highest total number of deaths, followed by China and the United States of America. Meanwhile; In Africa, Eritrea has the highest concentration of road deaths (48.4 per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by Egypt and Libya. According to WHO estimates, the number of road deaths will be the fifth cause of death in 2030. Because of the enormity of the problem, the UN felt it would take a decade to cope. In 2011, the United Nations launched a "Decade of Action" aimed at stabilizing and reducing mortality worldwide by 2020.

Sung and Rios (2015) reported that worldwide, 50 million people suffer speed accident injuries each year, with varying general economic costs from 2 to 5 percent of GDP in many countries. In addition, the impact of speeding accidents on the streets in families that lose income is enormous, both in terms of emotional trauma and loss of income, especially in poor countries where there are no safety nets and for accident victims. traffic. In addition, in 2014, the WHO and the United Nations (UN) identified speeding and road deaths as a major global health problem with economic consequences that affect the sustainable development of countries and the slow progress towards reducing poverty and prosperity. I could. In developed countries such as Western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the problem of accelerating accidents is decreasing (Aderamo 2012). In Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, however, there is still a high number of road deaths.

Nigeria, like other developing countries, is experiencing a rapid increase in motorization without adequate road safety measures to control the growing number of accidents and speed violations. As reported in other low and middle income countries, the main victims are pedestrians, cyclists and public transport passengers (Downing, 1991). In Nigeria, the road crash has been particularly disturbing for the last fifty years. As noted in the FRSC (Annual Report 2015), the trends in the RTC statistics show that in Independence in 1960, 1083 registered a total of 14130 cases of RTC resulting deaths. This number increased to 4,0881 cases, with 6,761 deaths in 1976. By 1988, the number of RTC had decreased to 25,792 cases, but the number of deaths increased to 9077 (see Annex VI for RTC statistics in Nigeria 1960-1988).

In this context, the government of General Ibrahim Babangida, founded in 1988 as a child by necessity to stop these ugly tendencies on the streets of Nigeria, is in this context. The Federal Road Safety Corps has adopted Decree No. 45 of 1988, as amended by Decree 35 of the Speed ​​Management Agency of 1992, which obliges the FRSC to comprehensively handle road safety problems and the management of road safety. speed in Nigeria.

Since the founding of FRSC, their continuous efforts, innovation and tireless commitment have reduced the RTC rate in the countries from 25,792 cases in 1988 to 9734 cases in 2015. While this reduction is commendable, compared to other companies developed and established in In the developing world, statistics are still unacceptably high.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Despite the efforts of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other road traffic control agencies, cases of high-speed crashes are high in Nigeria, with negative consequences for human and economic resources from the country. According to the FRSC cited by Bernard (2015), Nigeria loses around 3% of GDP through RTCs annually. In 2009 alone, the revenue lost as a result of road speed accidents in Nigeria was more than the GDP of twenty individual African countries. Adedokun (2015) reported that 6450 Nigerians lost their lives on our roads in 2013, while 40057 people were injured, this figure is similar to that reported by the FRSC in 2013, which indicated that a total of 13,583 accident cases were recorded. speed on the road with 6544 people killed and 40057 injured. This is a slight reduction compared to the figure for 2012, where of 14783 cases of speeding accidents on the road, 6573 died and 40,683 people were injured (Annual Report 2013 of the FRSC). Despite the slight fall in 2013, the problem still persists and demands serious intervention. According to Oyeyemi (2016), it is estimated that 11,031,809 drivers were registered at the end of 2015 and it is expected that 11,893,393 will be on Nigerian roads with a vehicle population of 10,565,571 at the end of 2016. With the poor state of roads in the country, the problem Of road speed accidents is still a big challenge. Oyeyemi (2016) also reported that 21199 vehicles participated in accidents in 2013, 16779 in 2014 and 17198 in 2015, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that the trend of the fall in road speed has not been reversed to the benchmark set by Nigeria in line with the United Nations decade of action 2011-2020. The United Nations established a framework to stop the growing trend of deaths due to the speed of roads; establishment of a leading agency in road safety management with various partners, establishing realistic long-term objectives and financing for strategic road safety activities. The actualization of this dream is hampered by the lack of coordinated efforts among several government agencies (federal, state and district), nongovernmental agencies, the private sector and other organizations / stakeholders interested in road safety. Most of the time, road safety does not get the level of political support it deserves. In addition, the lack of funding for road safety is hampering well-intentioned road safety policies in Nigeria. The high prevalence of vehicles that are not worthy of roads on the roads, the excessive load on the axles, especially on tankers and trailers, is a major problem that is opposed to good management of highway speed and reduction of speed accidents. The use of underage and poorly trained drivers and the use of drugs among drivers account for 87% of vehicle crashes between January and August 2014, while the FRSC recorded an increase in the crash rate with 39% attributed to speed (Annual Report of FRSC 2014). FRSC data on PSTN involving commercial vehicles in Nigeria between 2007 and 2011 indicated that there were 2094 crashes that killed 1150 people and injured 5865. Despite its remarkable success, six years away from its goal for 2020 to achieve 3.2 deaths per 10,000 vehicles, the FRSC continues to be 41 deaths per 10,000 vehicles (data from the FRSC 2012). In a related statistic published by the FRSC in its 2015 annual report, LAGOS recorded the highest number of accidents in the entire country in 2014 and 2015, respectively (see Appendix VIII). This, therefore, requires urgent intervention to mitigate the problem. 1.2 Objective of the study To examine the relationship between the management of the speed of the road and the reduction of the road speed shocks in Lagos in order to make recommendations and proffer implementation strategies.

1.3 Objectives of the study

The specific objectives of the study are: me. Identify the causes of road speed shocks in the lakes. ii. Identify the frequency of collisions in the speed of the road and the mortality rate of road-related crashes in the Lakes. iii. Examine the effect of road speed management on reducing accidents in Lagos.

1.4 Research questions

1.  What are the rules of road management in the state of Lagos?

2.  What is the level of adherence of motorists to these rules.

3.  What is the frequency of road speed crashes and fatality rate of road speed related crashes in the Lagos?

4.  What is the institutional capacity of FRSC in managing road speed crashes in the Lagos?

5.  What are the issues that affect road speed management in the LAGOS?

6.  What recommendations could be made and implementation strategies proffered to reduce the fatality rate of road speed crashes in the Lagos?

Scope of the Study

The study will cover FRSC activities on road speed management from 2010-2015 in Lagos. This period is significant because it is within it that the LAGOS witnessed dynamic increase in motorization, speed congestion and alarming rise in the rate of RTC occurrence. It is also in the period that the FRSC scaled up her activities in speed management and road safety culture entrenchment by becoming a signatory to United Nation Decade of Road Safety 2011-2020. The data on causes of road speed crashes, total number of fatalities and injuries were examined, and the efforts of FRSC and other statutory agencies involved in road speed management policies within the period were also be reviewed.

Significance of the Study

The study will be of value to the FRSC and other road speed management agencies which include the Nigeria Police Force, Directorate of Road Speed Services and State Government owned road speed management agencies. These agencies can rely on the outcome of this study to take informed decisions on speed management policies aimed at reducing road speed crashes based on the identified causes of RTC.

Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing can use the outcome of this study in formulating policies on roads identified to be crash prone. The Ministry can also pay attention to periods with high crash rate like night travels, so that interventions and preventive measures can be put in place. The study is also expected to add to the body of knowledge on the subject of RTM and RTCs and serve as reference material. Lastly, the study will is expected to extend the period of similar research works carried out on the subject matter by Egonu (1989-2000) and Dick (1995-2006).

1.7. Limitations of the study.

The biggest challenges that emerged in the course of this investigation are some of the misunderstandings and conflicting information of the respondents about the questionnaire. Also, not all the questionnaires were returned. There was a challenge of insufficient detection of PSTN in the NPF that would have been used to support the secondary PSTN data of the FRSC. Polling the leaders of the agencies involved in the management of highway speed was difficult due to its tight schedule. However, the researcher used the information he received from the interviews, the secondary data and his pedigree as a road safety officer to overcome these limitations during the study.

1.8 Definition of terms

i Road: According to the Road Code of Nigeria (2013), the road is a land route where vehicles, people and animals can pass. It provides a reliable way to transport goods and people from one place to another.

ii Vehicle speed management: this is the organization, direction, control and monitoring of the movement / speed of the vehicle on the roads. Consequently, RTM refers to the coordination of all the elements involved in the movement of goods, goods and people. These elements are, but it is not limited to vehicles maintained regularly, roads in good condition and well-trained and equipped regulatory bodies (FRSC 2014).

iii Road speed accident: as defined by Schwela (2008), it is an unexpected collision between two or more road users due to human or mechanical deficiencies and / or deficient environmental conditions. However, Elsom (1996) defined the RTC so that a road vehicle in motion collides with another vehicle, pedestrians, animals or geographical or architectural obstacles. RTC can cause injury, property damage and death.

iv Road safety: This is the totality of all the preventive measures taken and carried out by doctors to guarantee the reason and eliminate road hazards (FRSC 2013).

v Speed ​​of the road: Gerr (2006) defined the speed of the road as the movement of people, vehicles, cargoes and animals along transport routes formally organized in jurisdictions such as lanes, intersections and intersections, within a speed limit established For time.

vi Road fatalities: IRTAD (2011) defines street mortality as any death recorded as a result of a traffic accident within thirty days of its occurrence.