The Emergence of Motorcycle in Urban Transportation in Nigeria and its Implication on Traffic Safety.

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1 The Emergence of Motorcycle in Urban Transportation in Nigeria and its Implication on Traffic Safety. BY K. T. GBADAMOSI Ph.D. CENNTRE FOR TRANSPORT STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL PLANNING, OLABISI ONABANJO UNIVERSITY, P.M.B 2002,AGO-IWOYE, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA. (Nigeria) Nigeria has been branded a country with an unenviable record of road traffic accidents in the world. The contribution of road transport to the Gross Domestic product of the country has been adversely affected as a result of loses suffered from road traffic accidents and its attendant loss of property and human life. The crisis that engulfed the process of urban mobility in Nigeria in the early 80 s arising from the collapse of government organized urban mass transit subsequently made commuting in most urban centres a difficult task. This made the introduction of alternative approach of easing the movement of urban commuters imperative. The dimension and pattern of road traffic accident has been adversely affected with the emergence of motorcycle as an alternative in the process of ameliorating the difficulties encountered by urban commuters. The situation with road accident phenomenon in the country requires urgent attention more so that the operation of non motorized vehicle in urban commuting has changed the trend of road traffic accident in terms of its magnitude, pattern, nature and frequency to a dangerous level in the country. This, to a large extent, has brought the emergence of a new dimension to road traffic accident fatality. The increasing wave of road traffic accident is a corollary of the uncoordinated process and nonchalant attitude of motorcycle operators in complying conscientiously with traffic management and control measures of the country.

2 This paper brings to focus the magnitude of motorcycle accidents in the country with its attendant implication on traffic safety. The major factors that have prompted the introduction of this alternative approach for the sustenance of urban mobility are presented. Some of the major contentious issues negating the effective and smooth operation of motorcycle as a mode of mobility in Nigerian urban centres are examined. Finally, recommendations to improve the operations of motorcycle especially in the urban centres. These include effective institutional arrangement for coordination and proper integration of this mode into the overall transport system in Nigeria. Initiatives to curb excesses of the motorcycle operators must include compulsory training to facilitate their understanding of existing traffic rules and their subsequent integration to the country s highway system. Introduction Transport is an important element in economic development and it affords the social and political interaction that most people take for granted (Button and Hensher, 2001). The provision of transport infrastructure has grown extensively across the globe through a range of networks of modes which have undergone technological improvements cutting across the motive power, the tracks as well as the means which serve as compartment for passengers and goods. Personal mobility is one of democracy s most valued freedoms and it is, therefore, not surprising that high proportion of man s income is devoted to his own movement and that goods that he purchases. The importance is very crucial to the socio economic, political and cultural development of any nation is underscored by Munby s (1968) statement that there is no escape from transport.

3 In Nigeria, road transport is the dominant mode of movement for both freight and passenger traffic.the impact of the railway has been dwindling and it eventually collapsed about a decade ago. Air transport is unavailable to the urban poor while the potentials of water for inland transportation have not been fully exploited. The mono transport mode nature of urban mobility in the country has been responsible for the collapse of public transport and the concomitant suffering of commuters in urban centres. The introduction of motorcycle popularly called OKADA as an alternative mode of transport in urban centres was prompted by the high cost and unenviable transport service provision which impacted negatively on economic activities and mobility of the urban populace. Of particular interest is the fact that increasing demand for public transport has not been able to match the level of provision of transport services. The situation is also worsened by the increasing level of poverty of urban residents in Nigeria. The use of motorcycles for urban transportation is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. It has been commonly used as intra-city and inter-urban and rural transport services in riverine areas of the country for over three decades. It has also served as the common mode of inter-rural and rural urban transport in the dispersed settlement of the eastern states and areas where the conventional public transport system services were not available. (Ogunsanya and Galtima 1993, Adeniji; 1985;1987). The important operation of motorcycle in savaging urban mobility problems in Nigeria has introduced a new dimension to traffic accidents and safety in the country.

4 Transport Development in Nigeria and Urban Transport Scene The full realization of the over all socio economic relevance of transport in Nigeria informed the policy strategy on transport development in Nigeria by the European Colonial power in the opening up of the country through the provision of transport infrastructure. The initial strategy for transport development involved the introduction of the railway system with the roads serving as feeders to it The road and rail then operated as a complementary system in the evacuation of agricultural produce from the northern parts and rural areas of the south to the coastal terminals for shipment to industries in metropolitan countries. Since political independence in the 1960s development of the transport infrastructure has concentrated on very systematic expansion and improvement of the road system. The transport development programme witnessed the establishment of transport agencies and parastals at the Federal, State and local government levels. These parastal are empowered to make legislation and polices to support the development of transport, its control, its usage and more importantly enhance the widespread growth of transport across the states of the federation. Two major issues which have dominated the development and growth of urban centres in Nigeria in the past two decades are the rapid rate of growth of the urban population and widening gap between transport demand and supply (Oyesiku 2001). Urbanization process and its effect on development and growth of cities in Nigeria, as in many other developing countries are well known. The rise in the level of urbanization has

5 taken its toll on development in terms of high rate of urban unemployment and underemployment, shortage of infrastructures and services, ineffective fragmented cities; poor living standard and absolute poverty, mobility and accessibility difficulties. Mobility and accessibility problems appear to have been the main challenges facing the country and its cities in the past two decades. In cities where transportation problems are acute and concentrated, achieving a maximum level of mobility is seen as a very crucial ingredient in the improvement of the socio economic development of the country and more importantly for the enhancement of the economic base of the urban centres. The governments at all levels have made remarkable efforts to provide infrastructure required for making transport serve its catalytic role in socio economic development of the country. The introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and the deregulation of the nation s economy in mid 1980 s resulted in dwindling of the economic power of the government, the private and public organizations particularly in the provision of transport services. SAP has direct implications on the purchasing power of both the government and individuals (Oyesiku, 2001). Studies have shown that many city dwellers and the predominant private sector urban public transport operators found it extremely difficult to acquire new vehicles and maintain their existing fleet. The steady decline in the level of motorization created crisis in the transportation sector of the economy. The inability to provide adequate motor vehicles for urban mobility has been responsible the influx of used motorcycles for urban public transport into cities in Nigeria. The increasing use of motorcycle for urban public transport service therefore, emerged to fill the gap in the demand and supply of public transport in most urban centres in the country.

6 In Nigeria the contribution of motor cycles to the total kilometerage travelled has increased over the years. By coincidence, the level of danger potends by its usage is also quite enormous judging from the wave of losses suffered as a result of accident arising from the conflict between motor vehicles and motor cycles in most urban centres in the country. The share of motor cycle in the total number of trips made in most urban centres in the world is quite substantial particularly for low income households. Rietveid (2001) identified the following as the major factors that have attracted the use of motor cycle as means of public transport in most locations: Provision of door-to-door transport Biking and walking infrastructure usually has a very high spatial penetration. Cycling does not lead to waiting at public transport stops. Cycling has encouraged environmental performance; Motorcycles are cheap transport modes; They compliment the concept of multi modal transport chains. Trends in Motor Cycle Registration in Nigeria Available record from the Federal road Safety Commission (FRSC), the agency responsible for the issuance of number plates and registration of motor vehicles in Nigeria shows that a total 1,016,514 (One million sixteen thousand five hundred and Fourteen) motorcycles were registered in Nigeria between year 2001 and ( Table 1). This gives an annual average of 169,419 motorcycles registration in the country.

7 Table I : State Patten of Motorcycle Registration in Nigeria TOTAL STATE YR 2001 YR 2002 YR 2003 YR Abia Adamawa Akwa-Ibom Anabra Bauch Balyesa Benue Borno Cross River Delta Ebonyi Edo Ekiti Enugun FCT Gombe Imo Jigawa Kaduna Kano Katsina Kebbi Kogi Kwara Lagos Nasarawa Niger Ogun Ondo Osun Oyo Plateau Rivers Sokoto Taraba Yobe Zamfara TOTAL Source: Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), HQ Abuja.

8 The data in table 1, reflects a significant variation in the magnitude of motorcycle registration among the states of the federation including the Federal Capital. Anambra state recorded the highest level with 137,584 (13.5%) followed by Lagos with 101,373 (9.9%) and Kano with 74,508 (7.3%). The states with lower registration figures are Abia (1%), Kogi (1 %), Kwara (1% ), Oyo (0.9%), Balyesa 3820 (0.3%) and Ebonyin 3812 (0.3%). It is important to note that the registration of motorcycles in various states does not reflect the actual number of motorcycles in operation but to a large extent could serve as a yardstick for arriving at the level of motorcycles in operation. This is because some motorcycles operating in cities are not registered officially. The pattern of registration of motorcycle operation reflects the magnitude of urbanization at various locations in the country. States with high level of motorcycle registration coincides with those with high urban population. The differences in the level of motorcycle operation in the country could also be explained with variation in the magnitude of urban transportation problems coupled with the level of demand. Lower registration of motorcycle operators in some states can be explained by the presence of effective private public buses and taxi operation. Areas in the country which have continued to witness increase in the level of motorcycle operation have also had to contend with its attendant problems in terms of high risk exposure of urban commuters to traffic accidents due to the excesses of motorcycle riders. The situation is worsened by the uncoordinated nature of their operation and the operators flagrant disregard for traffic rules. Their dangerous operational attitude has increased the unenviable record of road traffic accident fatalities

9 associated with the country. The remaining section of the paper present the magnitude of accidents involving motorcycles compared with motor vehicular traffic. An Assessment Of The Magnitude Of Motorcycle Accident And Environmental Operational Difficulties. An evaluation road traffic accident occurrence by vehicle types in Nigeria between 2000 and 2005 was conducted to establish the level of contribution of motorcycle traffic to road traffic accidents. Table 2 presents statistics on the magnitude of accidents involving motorcycles and other classes of motorized vehicles in the country. The various categories of vehicles whose level of accident volume were compared with motorcycles (MC) are: Car, Luxury Bus, Mini Bus, Van (LGV), Trailers, Tippers, articulated Vehicles (HGV). A total of 69,248 accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicular traffic were recorded in Nigeria within the period under investigation. ( ). Motorcycles contributed 21,876 (31%), Cars, Luxury Bus, Mini Bus, Van (LGV) contributed 35,710 (52%) and Trailers, Tippers, articulated Vehicles (HGV) contributed 11,662 (17%). From all indications Motorcycle accidents in Nigeria is the second largest source of human and material lose. Motorcycle accidents unlike the vehicles with compartments which encapsulate passengers from the direct impact of accident on human body, the entire body of both the riders and passengers are totally exposed to danger. Motorcyclists and pedestrians have been classified as vulnerable road users because of their higher

10 exposure to injury in the event of road crashes due to their unprotected nature. This further explains why most motorcycle accidents are usually fatal. Table 2: Contribution of Motorcycle mode to Road Traffic Accidents in Nigeria YEAR / MC LGV HGV TOTAL VEHICLE TYPE TOTAL % 52% 17% Source : FRSC (PRAS) HQ. KEY: MC : Motorcycle LGV: Car, Luxury Bus, Mini Bus, Van HGV: Trailers, Tippers, articulated Vehicles The vulnerability of motorcyclists and the accident risk factor in Nigeria can be ascribed to a number of factors which among others, include: (i) The small size nature of the motorcycle which make them to occupy a small part the lane, which make the easily vulnerable to blind spots, running the risk of

11 skidding off the road and falling over the road surface. Loose gravel, wet leaves or puddles string winds created by large vehicles passing in opposite direction sometime affect the motorcycles stability. (ii) Motorcyclists require a large stopping distance when traveling at high speed and required additional precaution in order to be seen at night time. Head injuries and fatality are sometimes very high because of the combined factors of exposure of rider and passenger and speed capacity of the machine (iii) The uncoordinated nature of the operation of cyclists in most urban centres make operators oblivious of the risk peculiarities and this is responsible for the flagrant disregard for traffic rules by the okada /cyclist operators.. Most operators are not well grounded in the basic rules guiding the use of the highways; and (iv) Virtually all operators have limited exposure to initial training, test and more importantly they lack the experience in handling their instrument of trade in emergency situations. It is obvious that with the continued growth of the level of vulnerability of motorcycles and other motorized mode of transportation with their attendant consequent injuries, death rates are likely to increase, if urgent steps are not taken to streamline their operation Environmental Difficulties in Traffic Operation Accidents sometimes are inevitable in as much as movement is undertaken, but the nature and extent of fatality is usually determined by happenings within the environment. The Nigeria environment has certain peculiar characteristics that often exacerbate accident situations when an accident is recorded. These include cases of abandonment of broken down vehicles on the

12 road without caution, the state of disrepair of Nigerian roads, apparent absence of effective rescue arrangement for accident victims, the state of unpreparedness of the hospitals in handling emergencies.these are discussed in detailed in the ensuing paragraphs. The rescue situation on Nigerian roads leaves much to be desired as most people who happen to witness accident occurrences most often do not help the victims whose lives could still be saved. The refusal of people to help is sometimes based on experience in most hospitals with their demand for police report and sometimes such good Samaritans are held responsible for the occurrence of accidents. The police and other law enforcement agents that normally should help, when such situations occur, are sometimes nowhere to be found. This situation has led to premature deaths of victims who need not die. The situation of unpreparedness in most of Nigerian hospitals to provide effective health care delivery to accident victims is sometimes responsible for the death of accidents victims whose lives would have been saved provided there was effective and adequate care in our hospitals. The safety and crash design of most vehicles plying Nigerian road has been negatively altered as a result of series of refurbishing of vehicle frame in a manner that affects the chassis and general vehicle carriage. This is sometimes responsible for total destruction of vehicle frame any time an accident occurred with great implication for loss of live of occupants and destruction of property. The over reliance of the country on the road mode has resulted in the unprecedented growth in the number of vehicles plying the roads without an appreciable improvement in the level of compliance to road safety and traffic regulation. A great deal of transport demand that would have been diverted to other modes of transport use the highways thereby causing

13 congestion, delay, environmental pollution, incessant and uncoordinated land use change and more importantly road traffic accidents. The appearance of the motorcycle operator in the public transport system has added a new dimension to the traffic accident phenomenon in the country. The aggressiveness and inexperience of motorcycle riders often resulted in conflicts between motorcyclist and vehicular traffic, which often resulted in fatal accidents. Street trading now constitutes part of the regular feature of Nigerian highways. It is a common scene to find people display their wares along the highways or struggling inbetween vehicles to make sales. Accidents often occur as a result of conflicting struggles between street traders and other vehicular traffic. Besides accidents, street trading constitutes an impediment to free flow of traffic. One major factor that has become noticeable as crash worsening factor on Nigerian roads is the carriage of petroleum products by motorist in their boot to avoid the likely effect of scarcity at certain locations in the country, given the unpredictable situation of petroleum product supply. The practice of fuel carriage in vehicle boots is more prevalent among commercial drivers. Accident situation has become aggravated as a result of this because vehicles carrying petroleum are usually engulfed in flame thus making it relatively difficult to rescue their occupants. The loophole in the Nigeria system of apprehension and punishment of traffic offenders to a large extent, has been identified as the major cause of lawlessness and blatant disregard for regulation and general disrespect for traffic laws on most Nigerian roads and the consequent increase in accident occurrence. This can be traced to the sharp practices prevalent among the law enforcement agencies and inadequate facilities, which to a large extent are

14 jeopardizing the functionality of the police and other law enforcement agencies in curbing road fatalities. Options for Improving Motorcycle Operations. Meeting transportation needs of man is the most difficult challenge of every environment. The situation becomes compounded with the increasing wave of human concentration in urban centres, leading to scrupulous and unorganized land use activities. Perhaps one of the most important steps towards the realization of better urban transportation system for Nigerian urban centres is the effective management and coordination of motorcycle passenger transport services. The association of motorcycle operators must be recognized to provide basis for dialogue and coordination. This must be supported by central legislation to regulate their operations at various level of governance in the country particularly at state and federal levels. The current practice where anyone can just put motorcycle on the road for commercial services should be stopped. It might be necessary to empower individuals who are interested in running public transport to acquire serviceable vehicles as a way of reducing the influx of motorcycles and also to reduce the tendency of restricting urban commuters to motorcycle as the only available options. The attempt to alleviate urban mobility problem should take into consideration the need to reduce the poverty level of most urban dwellers. This may involve a turn around of the nation s economy. The economic reengineering process must initiate and vigorously pursue localized sectoral and microeconomic policies that will favour labour intensive techniques and services in preference to capital intensive urban activities.

15 Invariably, national economic development policies should be designed such that they can stimulate broad range of urban employment opportunities that are labour intensive coupled with the capacity to encourage effective utilization of natural and human resources. Conclusion The situation with respect to the dangerous trend in the operation of motorcycles in our urban centres calls for a radical approach towards finding effective solutions to the problem of loss of property and human life associated with motorcycles. The current situation calls for a better integration of the activities of the motorcycle operators as part of the large urban transport system. It is important to make the operation of the motorcycles more refined considering the poverty level of urban residents coupled with the restriction of their choice as result of non availability of reliable public transport service. In the last two decades mobility and accessibility problems appear to have been the main challenges facing Nigeria and her cities in the country s desire for development. In cities where transportation problems are acute and concentrated, achieving a maximum level of urban mobility is seen as a very crucial ingredient for the enhancement of the standard of living of inhabitants and the economic base of the urban centres.. REFERENCES Adeniji Kunle (1985) Urban Transport System in Nigeria, ODU Journal of West Africa Studies, NO. 28, July,pp

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