Ethiopia is a country of more than 120 million people but the number of vehicles circulating on its roads has reached the million milestones just recently. In fact, even though most of the cars imported from Europe or the Middle East markets are used cars, there have been an increasing number of vehicles which are new or have been assembled locally. This means that the quality of the cars has improved significantly.
However, road accidents have continued to be a prime issue and everybody is worried about why there are so many road accidents. It is true that this is a major issue in most developing countries and the reasons could be many. The sad reality is that most of the accidents are very easily avoidable with a bit of caution and attention and only a few only of them could really be accepted as pure accidents. In many cases, the accidents are deadly because speed is a huge factor in the process.
Car accidents in our country have several reasons, most of whom are avoidable according to repeated surveys carried out by the relevant authorities. First of all, the checking of the drivers’ ability should be revised carefully in multiple scenarios particularly because there have been alleged cases of corruption in the process of obtaining the driving license. Many people say that there is a problem with the authority that issues licenses to drivers because; no matter how strict the control may be, there are still many who manage to secure their driving licenses without adequate preparation and skills.
Besides the ones that could obtain genuine licenses from the roads authority, there are also others who somehow got forged licenses that could not be identified without serious inspections which may not be so practical. The fact that there could potentially be so many drivers without the necessary skills and know-how means that there are people who care little if they put on the roads drivers that could, not only endanger the lives of others, but also of the drivers themselves! Unfortunately, there are still records of those groups of unscrupulous people who continue to risk the lives of people for financial benefits and, what is even more alarming is the fact that there are people who are eager to drive on the roads putting at risk their own lives.
There have been talks of chains of corrupt officials who are engaged in the issuance of certain driving licenses and we have seen that some accidents could never have happened without the driver being incapable of driving. We find many drivers on the streets without having the required minimum capacity or know-how while trying to drive particularly in certain circumstances in a city for instance such as Addis with a lot of traffic congestion, both vehicles as well as pedestrians. We have seen them provoke certain delays in the traffic due to the poor confidence and ability of these drivers who somehow have obtained their license evading the normal process.
Hence, the preparation of drivers is a huge factor in avoiding certain road accidents and; still remains an issue not addressed effectively.
Drivers need to be prepared not only technically but also psychologically and stay alert to making any decision while driving using the roads along with multiple other users to avoid accidents. Drivers must understand that the roads are to be shared among multiple others who have the same rights to use them equally and the mentality of total egoism results in easily evitable accidents but that could result to be severe and even fatal at times.
The reports coming from traffic authorities show that the number of road accidents in Ethiopia has been consistently high and this has created concern for them. Efforts have been exerted using every means available such as the controls on the streets, the strict application of traffic rules, the annual inspection rules of vehicles and the posting of as many traffic signs on the streets as possible. There are also continuous awareness raising campaigns on the roads with messages persistently conveyed to both pedestrians and motorists by traffic authorities. These people advise all those who use roads to be prudent and conscious of what they are doing, especially while driving in certain crowded urban areas. All these measures are expected to reduce the number of traffic accidents to acceptable levels and not be such a huge public concern. The challenge continues to be quite big because many believe that a lot remains to be done from all parties.
Research has been carried out to identify exactly which kinds of accidents are occurring where, how and why and the experience of other countries has also been tapped into in order to curb the number of road accidents and limit the damages not only to the families involved but also generally on the country. According to recent reports, 1.3 million people die yearly in the world due to road accidents, and that means every 23 seconds a person dies. This is a huge number and the number of accidents that occur in the developing world is the big majority. Unfortunately, this is also true of Ethiopia where according to the latest records about 5,000 people lose their lives to road accidents yearly.
Moreover, the economic losses are also very painful. Accidents create disruption and chaos in family life but also in social life in general. In many cases, those who lose their lives are the breadwinners of families which cause social disruption as well psychological pain. Because of all these consequences, there have been extra efforts on the part of the relevant authorities working around transport and traffic agencies to reduce these accidents. More and more public messages are being transmitted on every media available so that everyone comes to appreciate the losses and various negative consequences that follow road accidents that could have been avoided in most instances.
The survey that has been carried out on why we experience so many road accidents has come up with various points. Why the efforts of the roads authority did not bring about such a change to limit to the minimum the rate of accidents’ is one question it had to pose. Campaigns have been carried out for days every year to sensitize the public about the gravity of the situation because things should not be minimized and accidents should not be taken for granted when in many cases they can be avoided. Speed has been the first culprit in this list of causes of accidents but the preparation of the driver, the technical state of the vehicle and the conditions in which we drive are also parts of the issue.
The conditions of the streets where the vehicle is being driven could also be another source of accidents because streets could have their own weaknesses due to their old age or the climatic conditions have reduced them to little practicability. The state of mind of the driver is important because if people are struggling mentally with other issues while not paying attention to where they are driving or what exactly is happening on the roads, this is an easy cause for an accident. Drivers must pass certain rigorous attitudinal tests in terms of personality and health issues such as hypertension or other visible physical liabilities especially for those whose profession is serving the public in the transport sector.
We have come to see that many who are engaged in the public transport sector by driving across the country have been found to take little rest and engage in round the clock ventures in order to maximize profits using certain stimulants. Drivers who do not take enough rest and enough sleep are the ones who very easily get involved in road accidents.
Vehicles which are hardly road worthy should be banned from the streets because they are often causes of grave accidents. We have seen in the past few years that there have been facilitations of credits for people serving in the public transport sector to replace their old vehicles with new ones and pay while working. People are encouraged to use well-kept vehicles and if they are not good enough to fit the roads, they should not be used endangering lives.
Hence, we can say all in all there are still more efforts expected from all sides to reduce the rate of road accidents and also reduce the gravity of the same because in many cases drivers lose control of the vehicle. The inspections and controls of the government authorities cannot have brilliant results unless they are corroborated by the public, most particularly those who are users of vehicles.
Pedestrians as well have their own share of duties and responsibilities while motorists should make sure that they drive under ideal circumstances every day they sit in the driver’s seat. People should not die of road accidents that can very easily be prevented. There should be the right awareness on this issue and the cooperation of all forces involved in this operation of doing away with road accidents is crucial. We should convince ourselves that ‘No one should die in a car accident!’
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 24 MARCH 2024
