Adeola Aderounmu.
I know countries where the flags will fly low and days of national mourning will be declared if 3 people die accidentally or mysteriously.
Many more countries will declare several days of National mourning if 100 people die for various reasons.
In Nigeria, bad roads and dangerous driving have contributed to as many as 400 deaths daily on our roads. The figure is even a onservative one. What is the real figure?
What is the value of a Nigerian life where some idiots are just stealing and looting?
This is serious!
Here is the piece of News from ThisDay Newspaper:
Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Osita Chidoka, said yesterday that 4,944 Nigerians were killed in 9,114 road accidents, while 17,390 were injured in 2006.He said conservatively, 400 people die daily on Nigerian roads.
Speaking on the “World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic accidents,” organised by FRSC, Minister of Information and Communication, Mr John Odey, advised motorists to exercise caution on the roads.
“To be an organised person, we must pay attention to the rules and regulations guiding our roads, especially when travelling.
“We are endangering our lives and others if we neglect road signs,” he said.
Odey said the exercise could not have come at any better time than the ’ember period’ when the year is coming to an end. He said God created everyone to live and in the course of doing this, “we should always try and be patient and careful, pray when travelling, not only for ourselves but also for other road users,” he said.
Odey commended FRSC management for organising the event which serves as a warning to all Nigerians as they prepare for Sallah and Christmas celebrations.
Also speaking, Mr Austin Oghede of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that the world embarked on such procession to remember road traffic victims.
He appealed to road users to always obey traffic signs to avoid carnage on our roads. http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=95732
AND here is a tip of the Iceberg: http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1846&Itemid=45
A View From The Scandinavian 
400 Nigerians die from road accident daily…and all we say is exercise caution on the road and obey traffic signs? This is too passive and simply ridiculous!
How about looking at the circumstances surrounding these accidents and proactively find ways to minimize reoccurrence?
How about making commercial vehicles involved in accidents liable for damages caused?
How about restricting the movement of articulated trucks (trailers and heavy trucks) to specific hours when there are fewer vehicles on the road?
The list is endless, and what is required to set them in motion is having the national assembly pass into law bills that deter reckless driving on the road.
We need to tighten the noose a bit and be more proactive, that is how epidemics are contained. 400 deaths every day is an epidemic!
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