Throwing Caution to the Wind

From Lagos to Enugu down to Kano and most major cities in Nigeria today we see so many risky behavior displayed by most road users which makes one wonder are these road users aware of the dangers of their action to their own life and the life of others, or are they simply ignorant of the risk involved in what they do, or they simply just don’t care.


Below is a picture of one of such risky behavior we find daily on major high way in Nigeria.


                                    

The picture above was taken on a major expressway in Lagos. The big question here is, are these people hanging on this vehicle aware of the risk involved in their action, if yes, why then do they have to risk their live for an action that could have been avoided and if you think they are not aware who is to blame for their ignorance or what step would have been taken to prevent people from engaging in such risky behavior.

The risk of these passengers falling off from this moving vehicle is very high, and in the event such an accident occurs they not only pose a danger to themselves but to other road users. How can we prevent people from risking their lives daily like this?

• Road traffic officers like road safety, vehicle inspection officers, police etc. should not only arrest culprits involved but also impound such vehicles irrespective of who owns the vehicle of whatever the vehicles are used for. 

• Proper enlightenment of road users on the dangers of such risky behaviors on both print electronic and social media.

• Finally as individuals we should always avoid such risky behaviors and correct erring road users or report such to the appropriate authority.