ABC Places High Premium On Safety Conscious DriversABC Places High Premium On Safety Conscious Drivers•Flags Off Safety Week
To maintain its position as the transport company that has the least records of accident in coach service operation in Nigeria, Associated Bus Company (ABC) Transport has focused more on its drivers in this week-long safety week starting from November 3 to January 31st 2008.
The Managing Director of ABC Transport, Mr. Frank Nneji who made this known in his speech at the launching of the safety week and 2008/2009 accident-free campaign held at Lagos Airport Hotel Monday said that the importance of drivers cannot be overemphasized. “Despite this huge investment in technology, we have continued to focus particularly on the driver. This ari ses from the fact that a close study of the driver-vehicle-road characteristics in Road Traffic Accidents (RTA's) reveals that in more than 90% of the cases the driver is the central issue” Mr. Nneji said.
Speaking further Mr. Nneji said that apart from the drivers, all stakeholders are equally accommodated in the workshop so as to meet up with the demands of the yuletide season. “The essential goal of the campaign is to create a more safety-conscious drivers, attendants and staff with a view to preventing road mishaps during peak periods, especially during the Christmas period.” He said.
In the areas of security, the Managing Director said that ABC Transport is already making extensive use of high technology to boost its operations. “The company has also invested heavily in computerized tracking systems coordinated from the company's hub, enabled by GPS tracking facilities, it monitors locations, speed and stopovers and is complimented by a GSM call-back system to the drivers. This has remained the first of its kind in road transport operations in Nigeria”, he stated.
Mr. Nneji however maintained that drivers training are very paramount in transport operation stressing that a properly trained and exposed driver would not drive on speed on unfamiliar roads.
According to him, such driver is expected to slow down when it rains, observe directive of the road sign, exercise caution and also apply defensive driving.
On the state of the Nigerian roads, the transport expert scored the Nigeria road situation low.
“Road and vehicle safety deserve more serious attention than hitherto given by developing countries like Nigeria, given that roads account for over 94 percent of the mass transportation of people and goods in the country. Road standards. Vehicle standards and safety standards have not yet come to stay.
One can rightfully say that in Nigeria, where there are serious crisis in the transport sector, depressed economy, abnormal road casualty rates, and general indiscipline, the automobile has become a notorious vehicle of grief, economic losses and under-development. Road environment are getting steadily unsafe in developing economies like ours. The demand for mobility is grossly unmatched with qualitative supplies, safe practices, and modernized service standards. Road insecurities are characterized by wanton, avoidable and unnecessary destruction of lives and property. The morbidity and mortality levels associated with road use in Nigeria have continued to be on the increase at a very unnatural rate 7.2 percent per annum. This is not only significant but confirms an epidemic. This is in spite of Road Safety efforts in Nigeria, which is probably one of the best in West Africa”.
On Road Traffic and vehicle administration in Nigeria, he said
”Road Traffic and motor vehicle administration in Nigeria have continue to lack order and are largely devoid of very reasonable and widespread levels of control. This is manifested in the haphazard manner in which drivers and unqualified persons abound and the way those who hold high officers drive.
Monitoring and road-keeping are not inspection and minimum vehicle standards are not always practiced nor enforced consistently and multilaterally. Of equal danger and far-reaching implications to safety are the conditions and quality of implication to safety is the disciplinary level of some road users arising from poor training, unprofessional indoctrination and an alarming deregulation of ethics and codes of conduct. What we are doing we are doing today, as a concerned safety crusader for the period in view, is our own contribution to the needed improvement and perpetuation of safe standards of transport operation”.
Mr. Nneji debunked the illusion that better roads would mean fewer fatalities stressing that such notion is far from the truth.
“The experience of some developing countries has shown that unless concerted effort is made to improve road safety through enforcement of speed limits, over loading, driver certification, and use of restraints, fatalities due to road accident will continue to increase despite the expected improvement on it would be recalled that for the past ten years. ABC Transport has been organizing such an accident free campaign particularly for its driving crew, maintenance, operations staff of the company and the entire road users and stakeholders in the nation's transport industry. According to the management of the company such campaign have become necessary following the high-risk traffic of human and cargo that occurs during the last quarter of the year.
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