Brian’s Column: Hit & runs in Africa – a dangerous trend needs change!
Brian’s column this month focuses on a serious trend that has says has emerged in Africa; the disturbing act of the ‘hit and run’, a devastating action that destroys lives and illustrates a lack of human emotion in the time of a road traffic crash. As always, Brian’s column is thought provoking and offers us an insight into his perception of the road safety situation in Africa.
The YOURS CORE Group meeting is the first of its kind since the organization began its operations in 2010. After the rigorous process of recruiting and selecting our Coordinators of the Regions (CORE Group) late last year, the group is being brought together for the first time at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to plan for the years ahead in their two year term as coordinators.
The grant provided from the Road Safety Fund with generous support from Johnson & Johnson, will go towards operational costs involved in training our international CORE Group in the work of YOURS and the use of the soon to be published, Youth and Road Safety Action Kit. YOURS is recognized as the international body for youth and road safety issues and this fund demonstrates the important role of young people in saving lives during the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
In addition to the grant of the Road Safety Fund, Michelin (founding member of YOURS) made this meeting possible and we would like to thank them for their continues support of our work.
About the Fund
The Fund is gathered by raising financial support from corporations, the international donor community and the general public. The Road Safety Fund is managed under UK charitable law by the FIA Foundation (UK registered charity No. 1088670) and the World Health Organization.
Proceeds raised through the Fund are invested in two ways:
- Road injury prevention programmes in developing countries – working with a wide range of partners on the frontline of the global road death epidemic to save lives.
- Enabling global advocacy for the Decade of Action, building awareness and support for the Decade’s injury reduction goals.
YOURS thanks Johnson & Johnson, the Road Safety Fund and Michelin for their support for the CORE Group meeting. In conclusion we would like to thank the World Health Organization for hosting the meeting.
In most countries a hit and run is a criminal offense.
There is however a disturbing tactic that has successfully managed to establish itself firmly in the very bones of a number of road users in Africa. The road users in this case include the pedestrians, the motorcyclists, cyclists and drivers of cars. This tactic is called Hit & Run!
Now, this famous trick comes with no surprise masks, considering that it was used in successfully executing missions to do with sorting out inter tribal wars. Hit-and-run tactics are a game of combat. Its a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy’s defense and/or retaliation.
This phenomenon seems to be catching on among drivers who run over people (whether that is their intention or not). In the case of an unintentional collision, such kind of drivers often make sure they drive in high gear and run away from the casualty leaving him or her to die on the road. More sad to say and very shockingly, other drivers or cyclists, in some cases, make sure they have killed, rather than merely injured the victim because, according to common argument, ‘it is more costly and time consuming to deal with an injured person than in cases where the victim has died’. So, the casualty literally dies when he /she is not supposed to die considering that the response time (the time taken for the emergency medical services to be activated and respond) is between 1 hour often leading to days wait as well. Imagine that in the Western world?
In Africa, Brian explains that emergency response time can be too late in its medical assistance to a road victim.
The hit and run tactic has some information pothole as regards the law in Africa. When you knock someone who is carelessly crossing the road, you have no case to answer. But if investigations reveal that you were in the wrong, then you are taken to the magistrate’s court which passes a sentence according to the Traffic Control and Road Safety Act. Section 108 of the Traffic Control and Road Safety Act states that a driver who causes an crash commits an offense and can be imprisoned for two years or fined between 600USD and 1600USD in court. The court which convicts a person may award to any person injured by the offense or the dependents of any person whose death arises out of the commission of the offense, compensation not exceeding 50% of any fine paid by the convicted person in respect of the offence. The Acts states that in the case of an crash, arising directly or indirectly from the use of a motor vehicle, it is the driver’s duty to render all practicable assistance to the injured person. The injured person or the dead victim’s family can then file a civil suit for compensation for injury or loss of life. Doesn’t make much sense right? This legal web of complicated rhetoric is the reason why many Africans do not pursue civil legal matters, which sometimes requires hiring a expensive lawyers. To avoid all this bureaucracy and legalities, some African drivers prefer to use the short cut of either killing the casualty completely or rapidly escaping out of the scene.
Economically, the Injury Control Centre Uganda (ICCU) estimates that road accidents cost about 2.7% of the country’s GDP in terms of the cost of loss of lives, injury, vehicle loss and other property lost. These figures are not any different from other African countries, for example in Niger (2.5%), Kenya (2.6%), Nigeria (2.5%). The rapid motorization in Africa has increased the volume of vehicles moving on the continent’s infamous single-lane roads, yet roads have not been improved or widened from those built in the colonial days. Even worse, Africa’s traffic is not segregated. Lorries, trailers, buses, commuter minibuses, saloon cars, motorbikes, bicycles, wheelbarrows and pedestrians use the same narrow roads!
A typical busy African road which needs desparate reform and improvements.
Oh…then there is this guy called human error. Human error accounts for about 80% of road traffic crashes in the Africa, according to the Global Road Safety Authority. This of course includes reckless driving, speeding, inconsiderate use of the road, careless or ignorant pedestrians, incompetent drivers and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The prescribed speed limit for buses and trucks is 80 kilometres per hour and for other vehicles, 100 kilometers per hour. Reckless bus drivers claim more lives on highways because many drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs and fatigue, and sometimes overtake a stretch of cars at black spots, in dangerous corners and on slopes.
Now, personally, I don’t think there is any human error in stopping and offering any form of first aid to a victim of a road crash but a sign of human decency and human compassion!
While Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is right when at the 2nd African Conference on Road Safety in Addis Ethiopia, November 2011 blamed tha lack of road safety in Africa on the poor road networks, inadequate road signage, limited knowledge on road safety, poorly enforced legislation and the poor emergency-preparedness by medical facilities. And that road crashes are the second leading cause of death for the able body age group in African countries and “they exact a heavy toll on African economies.”, the famous spirit of communitarianism in Africa seems to be getting diluted.
In Africa, we were (are) known for caring for others, our neighbours and even strangers. It becomes a real paradox when African drivers run over some one and they leave them to die…where is our #humanity and #Communitarian values? Shall the real African (with those values) please stand up and be counted?
