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Students and our roads

Okechukwu jombo

The long vacation is over .Nigerian Schools are open once again. This is not surprising since it was expected. What is surprising would be what The Federal Road Safety Commission would do to safe guard students who would be on the road this period.

Officials of FRSC said the zebra crossing is supposed to be an aid, especially for students who often need to cross the busy street.

But in Abuja, there is zero adherence to the Zebra crossing by both drivers and pedestrians, which makes some to think that the crossing has become a mere street decoration, lacking any use whatsoever The FRSC said they would be sensitizing students on the use of Zebra crossing and other road signs..

While speaking to the FCT Sector Commander of the FRSC Mr. Nseobong Akpabio , he said the number of people that obey Zebra crossings in FCT are near 0% and he is embarrassed by that. As a result, his office has arrested about 200 drivers for disobeying Zebra crossing since February in the FCT.Adding that to help create awareness about the use of these signs in the FCT they hold rallies in motor parks, and educate offenders on a daily basis in their office. He said that they have taken the campaign to schools in the FCT, as out of 715 schools in the FCT, his officers have visited 117 schools to enlighten them on the use of zebra crossing and other signs on the road. He said about 200 drivers have been arrested since February for disobeying Zebra crossing alone in the FCT, adding that two people have been jailed by its mobile court for 3 months in the Kuje Prisons for over speeding along the Lugbe road recently too

They Commission said they are taking the position because of what they have noticed according to an officer “While standing by the busy Wuse market in Abuja the officials said, I got a picture of the attitude of people towards crossing the road in Nigeria. But my first surprise was that there were no Zebra Crossings in a busy area like Wuse market and schools where pedestrians including students are seen every time of the day, as people who troop in from satellite towns of Abuja first stop there, then board another car to their destination. The 'el-Rufai' buses discharge passengers at their bus stops near the market too. How are these people going to cross the road and move on with their day's activity? This made me more curious as I watched various pedestrians cross the road. First ,was a woman who raised her hand in a manner which meant stop! As she simply ran across the road with some others following suit. Then came another who stood by the road for a while, and waited till the traffic warden stopped cars on her side, and then she maneuvered her way through the vehicles and stood at the middle which separates the two sides of the road, waited for the traffic to stop vehicles on that side again, then escaped through the crowd of cars, after which she heaved a sigh of relief. That was for those that had legs to run. What about the disabled? How are they going to run this 100 meters race without legs or a wheel chair? Just then, I saw a disabled man who was virtually crawling on his knees. This man seems to me in his thirties but the look on his face made him look ten years older. Obviously worn out by the great energy of crawling since childhood. He waited by the road for about 5minutes to allow cars to pass. When he noticed that the road was free, he quickly crawled to the middle of the road that separates the two sides of road and waited again for about 2 minutes, until the other side was free and no car was nearby. He again crawled speedily across the road”.

He went forward to say “I took a cab to the Federal Secretariat where there are zebra crossings. Here, also you find a lot of people, mainly civil servants who go to work everyday of the week except weekends and public holidays. But despite the pedestrian crossings on the road, many still chose to run across the road without using it. So, one begins to wonder if its normal to run across the road or it is a habit that has been formed over the years due to our bad road culture ,which is putting more pedestrians at risk.

At the FCTA Secretariat Abuja, where there are a number of Zebra Crossing too, I saw a mild drama between a motorist and a pedestrian. A pedestrian was already on the zebra crossing and the motorist decided to move on ,not minding that the pedestrian had the right of way.Of course, the motorist had his way since he was driving.Mr T K Garba a Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) who was stationed there whom I was speaking with on the attitude of road users ,before that mild drama ensued said, "that is the problem we face here. Over ninety percent of road users are ignorant of this sign on the road. You can see it yourself. This man was on the road first, but the man driving did not slow down, but kept moving. If the pedestrian did not wait, he would have been hit by the car ,and that would have been an accident. So I think the road users are neither enlightened nor educated on these things. The drivers don't read the Highway Code and for those that know, they are always in a hurry. The rule is if a pedestrian is on the Zebra Crossing, he has the right of way, and thus every motorist should stop. The high way code states clearly that motorists should stop when a person has moved onto a Zebra crossing. But as you saw earlier, it is the Pedestrian that stopped for the motorist. This is wrong and puts the life of pedestrians at risk.

One group of people whose lives are mostly at risk are the school children. If the adults lives are at risk, the lives of the school children are more at risk, because they cannot run as fast as the adults that have learnt to race across the road. Also, because of their young minds their sense of judgment may fail them, and they will be tempted to cross at the wrong moment. This was the case as Miss Charity Mathew, A Road safety officer, narrated a sad story of a school boy that was killed recently in Karu,Abuja. "The boy was crossing the road after school, when he was crushed by an oncoming vehicle. The boy was killed on the spot." she said. At the word 'crushed', I developed cold feet and wondered what would have happened if I was at that scene”.

Similarly, in a media report recently, a writer expressed dismay that motorists in Lagos do not even stop at a sign that announces school children crossing! Hence, there have been reported cases of school children being sent to their early graves by either ignorant motorists or drunk drivers, who are oblivious of the zebra crossing or the school children crossing sign. I believe that small boy whose life was snuffed out in broad day light on his way from school in Karu, is one of the many who have been sent to their early graves due to over speeding. And the writer continued "the question that often bothers me is why motorists -commercial and private accelerate faster when they are approaching Zebra crossing signs, with a full view of Pedestrians eager to cross. Is it that they hate pedestrians or are ignorant of the sign?" he asked.

In a recent research done by Odeleye Joshua on Zebra Crossing and Pedestrian safety Management in Abuja, he acknowledged the massive reintroduction of zebra crossing on all major roads in Lagos and Abuja ,but observed that road users (Motorist/Pedestrians) are largely ignorant of the need for, and the essence of this safety measure on the road. Hence, motorists often raced across the crossing, notwithstanding the number of pedestrians attempting to ,or are crossing the road. Also often times, pedestrians willing to cross the road do so passively and stand aloof, few meters from the zebra crossing box.

However, here in Abuja, unlike Lagos, the presence of Zebra crossing is very minimal especially in strategic places like Wuse and Garki market where people always congregate. Also very few schools areas have these important signs. In other places like the Berger junction where there are some, the paints have been washed off and there is no light to reflect it especially at night. When She world asked Engr. Suleiman Danbaba Head of Traffic Engineering Division in the Transportation Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Authority, why Zebra Crossings are not in strategic places and the need to use floodlights to reflect them at night, he said his Division has taken note and has made provision for that in this year's budget, and as soon as approval is given, they will begin to install them. But government must be sincere to do this by using the best paint which will not wash out after a short while, and also install overhead flood lights and other supplementary components to make it conspicuous. An engineer in that department confided in Sheworld that even when they suggest quality paint and other important equipment which are as well important, the government always say there is no money for that.

But in the few places where there are, the same negative attitude is displayed by road users. Zebra crossings are obstructed due to on the street parking and vehicles caught-in in traffic jams park on it. Again, Pedestrians stand aloof from this safety device ,and motorists take advantage of that and race across the zebra crossing.

"It is disheartening that in Nigeria, people don't obey zebra crossing, and thus people just race through pedestrian crossings without remembering that there are other road users. And I mean both the ordinary taxi driver and government officials. This attitude runs from the top government officials down. You see them blow sirens across zebra crossings, not minding that pedestrians may want to use the road. This attitude must change" Mr. Livinus, a driver working with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said. Recently a media report indicated that while the president was in Wiesbaden Germany, the brake in his car driving along the city's road became useful, especially at a zebra crossing, as everyone stops no matter the status of the pedestrian. Yes, at the Zebra crossing in Wiesbaden, the writer said the road user is treated as a king, for in Wiesbaden everybody is entitled to some respect. Yet our leaders visit these countries and obey all these rules, but come home and do otherwise. Why will a governor or even a chairman run across the road, beating all the traffic rules, because he is a government official? Does that not depict a disobeying of the law of the land they say they are serving?

Traditionally, the Zebra crossing on the road is primarily to maintain a peaceful and safe interaction between man and the traffic, since it has not been possible to maintain a perfect and complete segregation, between these two important road users. But from the survey carried out by Odeleye, the result confirmed that the road users, motorists inclusive, are grossly ignorant of the need for the importance and role of this safety device on the road. According to him, these negative attitudes can be altered through enforcement, education, training and propaganda. He advocated that the authorities should fund extensive mass awareness campaign about the necessity of this measure. Again,re-engineering of the road traffic environment is offered as another way of ensuring optimal utilization of this safety measure. He also suggested that supplementary component of the road environment that is supposed to alert the road users of the need to use the Zebra crossing, as well as the necessity to obey it, need to be utilized. Amongst these are special lighting for pedestrians crossing especially at night, steady and flashing beacons, overhead floodlights, flashing road studs and traffic lights, that give right of the way to pedestrian.

For this to be more efficient, the pedestrian also must not step out suddenly on to the pedestrian crossing, if any vehicle is close by, and shouldn't walk slowly on the Zebra crossing too. The rule is if you are within 20 meters of a pedestrian crossing you must use the crossing to cross the road. This is a habit we must all imbibe as decent people in a civilized society. But where none is found, what should a pedestrian do? Mr E A Alahirah, Head of Operations Central Business District Unit Abuja of FRSC, said the pedestrian must watch their sides carefully before crossing the road, and motorists must know that pedestrians are co-road users who are eager to use the road as well .Colours can be added to give the zebra crossing attention. Zebra crossings are cheaper to build than traffic signal crossing. Alahirah added that they give public enlightenment to erring offenders, but that this is not enough as more jingles need to be sponsored by the government on radio, and through fliers to ensure that drivers obey the Zebra crossing on the road ,and enlighten pedestrians to use it. He said that "pedestrians too must know that these things are for them, and must use them as well. For instance, with the Pedestrian Bridge in Nyanya, you will still see people running across the road, rather than use the bridge. Thus, soldiers have been stationed there to ensure that pedestrians use that bridge. I think our society is still uncivilized such that even measures that have been put in place to ensure peoples safety, they avoid and risk their lives on the road. So, pedestrians themselves should help safe guard their lives by doing things in the right way."