By Daniel Ayeoba

It is not uncommon to argue that safety and security of lives and property are the fundamental goals of human existence. In this light,  road transportation is a sustainable means through which people and their goods are moved  from one geographical location to the other. Road accidents are a major factor  militating against road transportation. Road accidents, or more accurately, road traffic crashes, have been known to occur throughout modern history as a sort of backlash from the invention of motorised vehicles. A road traffic crash is an unintended occurrence in which a motorised vehicle collides with another vehicle, a pedestrian, an animal, a stationary object or veers off the road such that damage is done to the vehicle, or in terms of fatality, lead to loss of lives and property. Road crashes may cause injuries, permanent scars, psychological trauma and  brain or nervous system maladies.

Statistical analysis has shown that annually, there are about 1.24 million fatalities worldwide as a result of road traffic crashes; 91% of which is claimed by low income and developing countries such as Nigeria. According to a paper by Agbonkhese of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, the reported 1,115 vehicular accidents nationwide in 2012, had at least 473 fatalities. The causative  factors of road crashes can be categorized into different dimensions: the human (vehicle operator) factor, vehicle/mechanical factor, road pavement conditions and the environmental factors.

It is strongly argued by transport researchers and experts such as the Police and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) that, of all the factors mentioned above, over-speeding, a human factor,  is the major cause of road traffic crashes.  The risk of road crashes due to over-speeding has been shown by research to be comparable to the risk of road crashes due to drunk-driving. Over-speeding not only increases the risk of a crash, but also the severity of the crash. In the same vein,  the research conducted in 1991 by Pasanen E. shows the high probability of pedestrian fatality if hit by a vehicle travelling at speeds of 60km/h and above. Road crashes due to over-speeding usually occur when the vehicle operator loses control of the vehicle or as a result of the sudden occurrence of an environmental factor. Also, other road users tend to misjudge the speed of an oncoming vehicle and may miscalculate to think they can complete a manoeuvre such as crossing the road or joining the traffic on the road before the oncoming vehicle reaches them.

High speed driving is often associated with haste among vehicle operators. Some vehicle operators, however, admit that they enjoy driving at excessive speed even when they do not have to. The use of mind-altering substances such as alcohol has also been implicated as one of the reasons why vehicle operators drive at high speed. Furthermore, many drivers claim they do not feel that speed limits apply to them as they are experienced enough to control the vehicle, no matter the speed; the common expression of this confidence is “I be expert”. Also, drivers, particularly inexperienced ones, tend to neglect to factor in environmental conditions while travelling at certain speeds; travelling at 60km/hour may be safe on a dry sunny day but very unsafe on a rainy day. Advancements in technology of modern vehicle designs also tend to encourage speeding; high-powered engines with low-pitched noises coupled with the advent of air conditioners in four-wheeled vehicles (which enable the driver to roll up the windows and not feel the rushing breeze) have a general effect of drastically reducing the sensation of the vehicle  moving at high speed.

Fortunately, growth in technology has given Speed Limiting  Devices (SLD)  as a possible solution to the menace of speed-related road traffic crashes. A speed limiting device is a device whose primary function is to control the fuel feed to the engine in order to limit the maximum speed of a vehicle to a fixed set speed. The set speed is the intended maximum speed of the vehicle which must not exceed any speed limit set for that class of vehicle. In certain countries, speed limiters are statutory, at least, for certain kinds of vehicles. For example, the Moped (also known as the motorised bicycle) has a statutory set speed of 45km/hour in the United Kingdom. In such countries, the speed limiter is designed such that the set speed cannot be adjusted without proper authorization. In other countries, however, speed limiters are non-statutory with programmable set speeds. Speed limiters function in such a way that the human factor of over-speeding is eradicated. They reduce the risk of road crashes by giving drivers a longer reaction time and a shorter stopping distance. In an event of an actual crash, speed limiting devices reduce the severity of the crash. Other than these two  first glance benefits, research by Eef Delhaye of the Transport and Mobility Leuven in Belgium has proven in a paper published in March 2016 that speed limiters help save fuel, increase the lifespan of a vehicle and cause the vehicle to emit lower amounts of environmentally hazardous gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide

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The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), with its goal of reducing Road Traffic Crashes by 15% and road fatalities by 25%, has been pushing for the enforcement of the use of speed limiters on road users in Nigeria. The enforcement was finally implemented on 1st February, 2017 for commercial vehicles. Only corporate, private long distance transport companies however seem to be in compliance since there is a direct benefit for the owners of such businesses not to lose their  vehicles to road crashes at the hands of reckless employee drivers. Owners of short distance transport vehicles tend to believe strongly in their own driving abilities and consider the device unnecessary.

The response of the remainder of Nigerian drivers to the speed limiting device implementation can be improved by providing platforms to interact with the drivers so that they recognise the importance of the device. Drivers must understand that road signs, speed limits and their own judgements are sometimes not enough to avoid road crashes. All vehicle operators should understand that over-speeding does not save as much time as one would be inclined to believe; only 46 seconds are saved over a distance of 10km if a driver travels at 65km/hour instead of 60km/hour, while the road traffic crash risk doubles.

Ayeoba writes via [email protected]

Since compromise is characterized by both sides making adjustments, the FRSC should yield some ground to the demand of Nigerian drivers concerning the price of the device. As at the 1st of February, the day on which the enforcement was implemented among commercial drivers, Gombe State recorded a decrease in vehicular activity as many drivers were unable to purchase the device at the price of N48,000. According to Daily Trust Newspaper, a representative of a motor park in Gombe, Malam Umar Abubakar, pleaded that the FRSC should reduce the price of the device to as low as 10,000 Naira to enable drivers such as him to afford it. An alternative measure may be to introduce a scheme which would enable payment by instalments so that the price does not discourage less-financially-able drivers.

Speed limiting devices are the future of Road Traffic Crash prevention. It is, therefore, important to not only implement compulsory usage of speed limiters on every vehicle, but also implement methods such as those suggested above to encourage a healthy public response so that lives are saved and the objectives of the FRSC will be achieved in the nearest future.