REDUCING ROAD
ACCIDENTS DURING THE EMBER MONTHS
By Titi Bamigboye
As the year gradually comes to an end, deaths and injuries
from road traffic crashes are a major concern. In Nigeria,
higher incidences of road traffic accidents are experienced
during the final months of the calendar year, popularly called
the ember months. The ember months refer to the months from
September to December.
During this period, the roads tend to be busier as there are
high influxes of both vehicular and passenger movements from one
part of the country to another, especially as some religious
festivals fall within the period. Due to the high prevalence of
auto crashes and its attendant carnages during this period, the
months have become dreaded.
The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, an agency charged with
the responsibility of ensuring safety on Nigerian roads,
attribute road accidents during this period to motorists’
overloading, impatience, lack of courtesy for other road users,
faulty vehicles as well as dilapidated road infrastructures.
Another major cause of auto crashes in the country is the use of
mobile phones while driving.
It has been estimated that during this volatile ember months,
over two thousand people die from one form of road accidents or
the other in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, this figure is staggering and
urgent steps need to be taken to stop the trend. Aside from the
huge human loss and psychological impact, the economic burden is
also noteworthy because, the nation's productive work force
tends to shrink significantly with every life lost to road
traffic accidents.
While the Federal Road Safety Commission and the government are
encouraged to play their parts to ensure safety on Nigerian
roads, it must be pointed out that the task of ensuring road
safety and reducing road accidents during the ember months
should not be left to government or its agencies alone, but
should be seen as a collective responsibility. Nigerians must
rise to the occasion by cooperating with government to bring the
carnage on Nigerian roads to the barest minimum.
This can be achieved only when motorists and other road users
give due recognition and respect to road signs and traffic
regulations.
On its part, government must enforce existing traffic laws and
regulations. A lot still needs to be done in the area of road
users’ education. Campaigns should be mounted all year round and
intensified at specific periods of the year such as in the run
up to the yuletide and other festivities.
