Overloaded vehicle
In climes where law reigns supreme and lives treasured, all road users if not all
citizens are at home with the traffic laws. These laws are clearly spelt out and
a dividing line drawn between the functions of different kinds of vehicles plying
their roads. Before one acquires a drivers’ license and qualifies to sit behind the
wheels, such individual must have passed through rigorous tutorials, driving
tests and exams expected to be passed with good grades. Citizens dread
breaking traffic laws more than anything else for fear of the attendant dire
consequences. Offenders are charged to court immediately, vehicles impounded
or statutory fines imposed accordingly and licences ceased for a certain
stipulated time. Heavy duty vehicles are strictly designated for haulage of goods
and services while other smaller vehicles like cars and buses strictly convey
human beings contrary to which full weight of the law will be visited upon
defaulters. At no time or circumstance will a haulage truck driver contemplate
interchanging his traditional role of conveying goods with that of a commuter
bus even if he was financially induced or pressurised to.
It is a different kettle of fish here in Nigeria. Land transportation system has
witnessed and accommodated terrible practices. The ugly consequences and the
resultant carnages of these actions are common on our roads. Road users can
willingly break traffic laws and easily get away with it. As evident on our roads,
vehicles are all utilised interchangeably depending on the situation, the seeming
accruable gain to the driver, the vehicle owner or even the passengers
themselves. It has become a common pathetic, astonishing, worrisome and
unbecoming sight on our highways to behold people especially the young ones
regularly hanging on trucks from Kano to Lagos or Port Harcourt to Damaturu
without a whimper. Passengers are also seen cramped inside trunks of vehicles
reminiscence of animals or mere commodities as they journey to their various
destinations. Some national dailies have done a bit by attempting to portray the
dangers by dedicating a pictorial column to it and some other unusual
developments in our roads and society. However, the trend demands drastic
measures and deserves urgent attention of road managers. This unwholesome
common practice take place under the nose of several mounted Security and
Road Safety Check Points. Still the law turns blind eye and look on mindlessly.
Many Nigerians have been confined perpetually to wheel chairs while others
unfortunately met their untimely deaths to this unacceptable practice. The
nation can no longer afford to have disabled citizenry or lose more lives to this
system; hence, it should be discouraged. This ugly situation has practically
thrown up the quantum of attention and concern an individual Nigerian pay to
the sanctity of his own life; that of his neighbours and to a large extent the
seriousness Nigerian state attaches to the welfare of her citizens. Furthermore,
it brings to light the high level of ignorance or perhaps the folly which induces
some passengers to inconvenience or denigrate their persons for some ludicrous
reasons.
Are there extant laws for passengers’ comfort as they journey around Nigeria?
How active and protective are conveyance laws in the nation? Are the road
users and transport operators aware of the laws? Of course, there are lots of
laws with institutions driving them but something urgent needs to be done to
make them adequately functional. If the awareness for the protection of the
rights of even lower and less important animals is on the increase the world
over; every Homo sapiens deserve the right to live a decent and dignified life in
addition to comfort and convenience while travelling. This law of nature guiding
our existence has no meaning to some passengers themselves and transport
operators in Nigeria who were both ignorant and indifferent to this grave danger
lurking around.
Vehicular mode of transportation is the fastest, reliable, comfortable and most
convenient among various kinds of road transport systems all over the world.
Peoples’ lives, movement of goods and services from one place to another have
been improved and enhanced by this common but unique type of transport
system. Therefore, for continued preservation of lives of citizens, growth and
improvement in the vehicular transport system; we must not underestimate the
right to passengers’ comfort and convenience to vehicular usages in Nigeria.
The Federal, States and Local governments, the Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC), the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW)
and even passengers and community leaders should understand the enormity of
this transportation challenge and disaster. These groups and institutions should
individually or jointly engage in aggressive and robust public enlightenment of
the operators and stakeholders in the transport sector to learn, recognise and
understand the essence of safety of their lives, choice of vehicles and the right
to comfort when travelling. By so doing, the consciousness of the road users
will be awakened to the realities and the consequences of this unwarranted
trend.
Sunday Onyemaechi Eze, a Media and Communications Specialist wrote via
sunnyeze02@yahoo.com and can be reached on 08060901201
daylight articles vehicles comfort in nigeria
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