Opinion | The Surge Of Road Traffic Crashes Cases In The Gambia

A RECOMMENDATION TO  EVERY CITIZENS, PARTICULARLY RELEVANT AUTHORITIES ON HOW TO ADDRESS THIS ENDEMIC MENACE

By Alhagie Sillah 

When are we going to hold a serious conversation surrounding this endemic road traffic crashes (RTC) formally called Road Traffic Accident (RTA)?

The rate at which Road traffic crashes is claiming lives of our people is seriously worrisome and alarming, if drastic measures are not fully effected or implemented to address this menace would further continue to result to a catastrophic and tragic loss of valuable lives.

Are we going to sit, fold our hands and see Innocent citizens continue to loss their lives unbearably on a daily basis due to avoidable accidents?

It has now reached to a point, whereby people feel scared to on-board a vehicle whenever traveling, because you will be thinking if you are not going to be the next victim of Road traffic crashes before reaching your final destination.

 The relevant authorities have to seriously look into the frequent happenings of Road Traffic crashes and come up with drastic measures to avert such menace.

The innocent lives we continue to loss due to Road traffic crashes are unacceptable, unbearable and uncalled for.

We have been frequently experiencing horrible, unbearable and shocking Road Traffic crashes that are deeply disturbing and concerning. It is indeed pathetic and disgusting to note that most people affected by these are our valuable youths.

The authorities are paying deaf eyes and not taking heed to the pleas of its citizenry, little do they care about the reoccurrence of such menace.

How many lives have we lost and how many shall we continue to loss, if necessary or drastic measures are not taken or enforced?

It will be interesting to note that The Gambia (a small country of less than 2.5 million population) is ranked 4th in the world only behind Zimbabwe, Malawi and Liberia in the list of countries with the highest and worst Road Traffic cases.

Let me provide you with brief synopsis of the statistics obtained from the Gambia Police Force detailing the records of Road Traffic Crashes cases in the country; the report indicated that from 2011-2021, on average 121 people die annually from road traffic crashes. Within that period, a total of 1,218 Road traffic accidents occurred.

In addition, from January to September, 2023 that is within 9 months period, there had been a total of 683 reported cases of road crashes. A total of 113 die and 308 people sustained serious injuries combined, constitute 62% of  the total recorded accidents, 74% of total accidents and 82% of serious injuries involved people age below 40 years.

Although, the numbers could be under reported for some reasons, it could be increasingly higher than this due to the fact that not all road traffic crashes cases are captured and or recorded.

However, you will not know the devastating consequences or impacts of accidents until you visit the main referral hospital (EFSTH) at the Accident and Emergency units (A&E) where Road Traffic victims are admitted, you will be shocked with the kind of patients you will come across that are admitted due to Road traffic crashes; many have become physically challenged, some fighting for their lives, while a lot could not survive due to the traumatic injuries they suffered from. 

Are you not aware that Road Traffic Crashes is in-fact claiming lives of our population quicker than most of the deadly diseases?

Most of the Road traffic accidents are human errors. That said, if necessary measures are in place could reduce the number of road crashes cases we usually have. Therefore, I solely believe that there is still room for improvement, in order to reduce road traffic crashes in this country, because it is evident that most of our Road traffic crashes are obsolete.

There are key factors that are leading to frequent Road traffic crashes among them are but not limited to: unqualified driving, reckless driving, terrible condition of our roads, negligence, driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs and above all our attitude towards the road usage among others.

Most of the people we see occupying our roads driving have not undergone any formal driving training, all we see is easy way of accessing driving license.

To address these prevailing problems, here are some key recommendations that will be helpful in trying to minimize Road Traffic Crashes in The Gambia, among them are but not limited to the following:

1. Multi disciplinary Taskforce: I implore on relevant authorities (National Road Safety, National Road Authority, Ministry of Transport, work and infrastructure, Gambia Police Force and Gambia Transport Union) to formulate a task force committee that will seriously revisit our old traffic laws and regulations, thereby enacting relevant and effective modern legislations that are geared towards improving road safety in The Gambia.

2. Proper law enforcement for traffic offenders: If traffic laws on drink-driving, seatbelt driving, speed limits, driving without license are not effectively enforced, there cannot be an effected reduction in road traffic fatalities and injuries, effective enforcement includes establishing, regularly updating, enforcing laws at the national, municipal and community levels, it also includes attaching appropriate penalties to offenders. There should be strong fines for traffic offenders like driving without license should be queried, imagine people caught driving without a valid driving license are charged and only liable to pay 1,000 dalasis, if we continue to levy such charges against traffic offenders, it is more of encouraging them to continue to carry on the act. To produce effective Road traffic outcomes, strong management and effective coordination in all aspects of road safety is key.

3. Dedicating a lead agency: I implore on the right authorities to dedicate a lead agency for effective road safety, this will go a long way in addressing and improving our road safety efforts.

4. Putting an end to corrupt practices and bribery from the authorities: I implore on all relevant authorities, particularly traffic officers to decease from corrupt practices and collecting bribes for traffic offenders; therefore any driver that offends traffic rules should be dealt with and face the full force of the law appropriately without compromise.

5. Attitude towards road usage: I implore on every road user; be it vehicle drivers, motorcycle riders, bicycle users and pedestrians to develop and nurture good or right attitude towards the usage of the road.

6. Non use of drugs and alcohol: I implore on drivers to stop the use of substances like alcohol and drugs that can lead to lost of balance while driving and can subsequently lead to serious crashes.

7. Non use of cell phones while driving: I implore on drivers to stop using cell phones while driving hence that can lead to distraction and impaired driving which can further cause serious injuries or fatalities.

8. Reckless driving and over speeding: I implore on drivers to stop over speeding and or driving anyhow on our roads, hence over speeding can lead to serious crashes.

9. Providing adequate post crash care:  I implore on government to serious consider post crash care for victims, immediate cares for injured victims after a crash has occurred, is extremely timely, hence sensitive delays of minutes can make a difference between life and death. Improving post crash care requires ensuring access to timely prehospital care before reaching to the main facility, this can be achieved through specialized training of people on prehospital care.

10. Non use of helmets and set belts: The use of the aforementioned items can lead to the reduction of serious injuries in crashes, therefore I implore on all road users to fully utilize helmets and sit belts before using the roads.

11. Regular sensitization: I implore on the right authorities to formulate a regular awareness campaign targeting all road user on safety and effective road usage.

12. Unsafe vehicles that are not fit for purpose: Safe vehicles play a crucial role in averting crashes and reducing the likelihood of serious injuries, therefore I implore on all vehicle owners to make sure there vehicles are upto standard, that is fit for use before hitting the roads 

In light of the above submissions, I wish to reiterate that It is obvious and crystal clear that most of our Road traffic crashes are preventable only if these points are highly noted and observed to the latter; otherwise, I do not see this country any near towards addressing or mitigating Road traffic crashes.

We should remember that every single life is priceless, irreplaceable and worth living.

We should graduate from the “maslaha”syndrome and act based on what ought to be done without fear or favor; affection or ill-will. 

For the Gambia our homeland 

God save The Gambia and her people 

Our lives matters!!!!!!!

Enough is enough!!!!!!!

About the Author

The author is a Health Researcher, Health Advocate and Tutor

Publisher’s Note

Views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Want to be a contributing author? Please email opmail220@gmail.com