What is the causes of road accidents in Nigeria?

Answer 1

The causes of road accidents in Nigeria are varied but related to the road conditions, Vehicle Conditions and driving habits.

Road Conditions :

A lot of accidents happen as a result of cars unexpectedly running into obstructions and road hazards on the county's highways. These hazards include potholes, damaged road sections and other objects (e.g. broken down vehicles, abandoned vehicle parts etc) on the roads. Vehicles then tend to somersault as a result of these potholes (which can be pretty deep). Other vehicles somersault or run into other vehicles on the road while trying to avoid these unexpected hazards.

Another factor is the remarkable absence of road signage on most of Nigeria's Highways. These makes it difficult for non-locals to use any stretch of roads without prior tutoring regarding the 'dos' and 'donts' of each stretch.


Vehicle Conditions :

Most vehicles in Nigeria are not serviced regularly nor are they serviced by authorised Manufacturer Service Agents nor by people who have access to the Manufacturer service manuals. A lot of improvisations therefore go into vehicle maintenance. The serviceable parts are also not reliably supplied by the authorised Manufacturer Agents. These fake parts therefore tend to give way in the least expected of situations. Such unexpected part failures do tend to cause accidents on the Nigerian Roads as well.

The absence of a skilled workforce also makes the workmanship of the maintenance engineers in Nigeria operate at standards way below the standards in the advanced countries of the world.


The Human Factor :


The ease with which Driver's Licences can be illegally procured in Nigeria ensures the steady supply of unskilled drivers on her roads.

The driving habits are so bad people tailgate other drivers at high speeds causing major difficulties for the vehicles when things go wrong with any of the vehicles in the convoy.

Speed limits are never adhered to on the roads and the vehicles are commonly used well in excess of the design load capacity. This makes it difficult for drivers of such vehicles to control them in a safe and reasonable manner.

Answer 2

government can prevent road accidents by constructing good roads

and setting laws of traffic lights