PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES.....Topic: Driver Education: A Means of Reducing Road Crashes

Public Lecture Series

The Annual Feast of Barracuda Organised By National Association of Seadogs, Asaba Branch

On 23rd June, 2018 at Nelrose Hotel, Asaba.

Topic: Driver Education: A Means of Reducing Road Crashes

By Stephen K. Dieseruvwe, Director General, Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA).

Protocols

Members of the Press

Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me begin by extending my deep sense of gratitude to the National Associationof Seadogs, Asaba Branch, for inviting me to participate in this year’s Annual Feast of Barracuda, with discussion topic: Driver Education: A Means of ReducingRoad Crashes, which shall put in context the unsafe nature of our roads globally.

Road   traffic   crashes   have   become   a   normal   and   reoccurring  phenomenon particularly in Nigeria. Although both the developed and developing nations of theworld have suffered from varying degrees of road traffic crashes, the statistics from developing   countries   are   alarming.  

Road   traffic   crashes   are   a   major   concern because of: Loss of life Injuries Loss of output and economic loss to the economy.Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths: A Global ProblemThroughout   the   world,   roads   are   shared   by   cars,   buses,   trucks,   motorcycles,pedestrians, animals, taxis and other categories of travelers.

Travel made possibleby motor vehicles supports economic and social development in many countries.Yet   each   year,   these   vehicles   are   involved   in   crashes   that   are   responsible for millions of deaths and injuries.

The World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety provides anoverview of the road safety situation globally. The Report is an official tool for 1 monitoring the United Nation Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011 to 2020, which aims to reduce road traffic crashes by 50% across board.

According to the 2015 Report, more than 1.25 million people die each year as aresult of road traffic crashes and between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries. Nearly half of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

The report also reveals that people aged between 15 and 44 years account for 48% of global road traffic deaths,whilst road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death among people aged between15 and 29 years. More than 90% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low-and   middle-income   countries,   even   though   these   countries   have   approximately 54% of the world's vehicles and the road traffic injury death rate are highest in the African region. Road traffic crashes cost most countries about 3% of their gross domestic product.

It is believed that without sustained action, road traffic crashes are predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.

Having thrown light on the global trend in road traffic crashes, let’s bring our attention to the situation in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), 11, 363 road traffic crashes were recorded in 2016.

Speed violation was reported as the major causes of road traffic crashes, accounting for 33.86 per centof the total. The other two major cause of road traffic crashes were loss of control and dangerous driving accounting for 15.43 per cent and 8.53 per cent respectively of the total road traffic crashes recorded.

The National Bureau of Statistics also revealed that   a  total  of 5,053   persons  were  killed,  while  30,105  persons  were injured in the road traffic crashes recorded in 2016.

For 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that no fewer than 3,743 people died in road traffic crashes in the first three quarters (January to September).  

According   to   NBS   figures,   1,466   people   died  in   the   first   quarter (January to March), 1,207 in the second quarter (April to June) and 1,070 in the third quarter (July to September).

The NBS report showed that a total of 7,537 road accidents occurred between January and September 2017. A breakdown of their report showed that the first quarter recorded 2,556 road traffic crashes, 2,503 in second quarter, and 2,478 in2 the third quarter.

As in 2016, the major causes of road traffic crashes were speed violation, loss of control, and dangerous driving.

The global and Nigeria road traffic crash data presented above are very worrisome.In order to reduce fatal crashes and reduce serious injuries, adoption of stringent driver education and testing regime should be the starting point.

Driver education will result in some driving and riding behavioural attitude changes and will go along way in reducing road traffic crashes, as shown by statistics from developed countries.

Causes of Road Traffic Crashes
The main causes of road traffic crashes as contained in the Nigeria Police and FRSC Road Crash Reports are categorised into three main headings:

1. Driver and Human Error (85% or more):
This is the most prevalent contributingfactor of road traffic crashes, e.g. over speeding, worn out tyres, over loading, baddriving  habits,  fatigue,  under influence  of  drugs  and alcohol,   use  of  seat   belt, improper overtaking, lack of or poor judgment, inexperience of drivers, driver’s carelessness at junctions, traffic law violations, etc. 

The ease with which drivers’licences can be procured in Nigeria ensures the steady supply of unskilled drivers on her roads.

2.  Road   Network   and   Infrastructure:  
Bad   roads,   poor   road   design,   lack   of maintenance, lack of or inadequate road and traffic signs and road markings, etc.

3. Vehicle Maintenance:
Poor vehicle maintenance, road worthiness of vehicles, environmental issues, etc.

As indicated above driver or human error, which is also seen as driver behaviour, is the most dominant cause and constitute over 85% of all road traffic crashes.

The full understanding of the act of driving would therefore play a key role in reducing road traffic crashes.

In this vain, the structured training of driving instructors and drivers is paramount. As over 85% of road traffic crashes are as a result of human or driver error, then well trained drivers will eventually bring the number road crashes down, as they would have full grasp of the 'rules of the road’.

3 GLOBAL CRASH DATA
Country Population  Registered Vehicles (Million) Annual Road Fatalities Fatalities Per 100,000 Population Estimated GDP Loss (%)

Sweden 9.6 m 5.8 272 3 1. Singapore 8.4m 0.97 197 4 0. Norway 5m 3.7 192 4 1. Netherlands 16.8m 9.6 574 3 2. Japan 127.1m 91.4 5,971 5 1. Germany 82.7m 52.4 3,540 4 1. France 64.3m 42.8 3,268 5 1. Finland 5.4m 5.9 258 5 2USA 320.1m 265 34,064 11 2UK 63.1m 35.6 1,827 3 1. China 1.4billion 250.1 261,367 19 0. Nigeria 173.6 5.8 35,651 21 3. Ghana 25.9 1.5 6,789 26 2. Kenya 44.4 2.0 12,891 29 0. South Africa 52.8 9.9 13,273 25 8.
Source: World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015. United Nation Action.

One of the goals of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety is the reduction of road fatalities by 2020 and according to the road safety action plan; this   can   be   achieved   by   increased   funding   and   increased   national   and   local prevention efforts using successful experiences from other countries.

The national activities aimed at actualizing the action plan are: Road Safety Management; Safer Roads   and   Mobility   (road   construction,   maintenance   and   road   furniture);   Safe Vehicles (road worthiness of vehicles - yearly vehicle testing), Safer Road Users (promote   establishment   of   Graduated   Driver   Licensing   systems   for   novice drivers.);   and   Post-Crash   Response   (emergencies   and   rehabilitation   of   crash victims).

4. Best Practice Approach: Case Study of United Kingdom.
Now   let   us   look   at   the   successful   experience   of   the   United   Kingdom   in   the reduction of road traffic through driver education.

From the table above, deaths from road traffic crashes per 100,000 population in the United Kingdom is put at 3, whilst Nigeria is 21.

The Train the Trainer approach has been adopted in achieving the reduction in road traffic crashes.The Register of Approved Driving Instructors was set up as a voluntary scheme in the 1960s, becoming mandatory in 1970, in the interest of improving road safety by maintaining and improving the standard of car driving instruction available to the general public.

It ensures that the public can rely upon an acceptable minimum standard  of tuition from registered driving instructors. The Driver  and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is an executive agency of the Department for Transport(DfT)   DVSA   which   sets   the   standards   for   drivers   and   vehicles   in   the   United Kingdom. Driving instructor training although not obligatory in the United Kingdom, but inpractice driving instructor candidates need some form of training in order to pass the test.

Any qualified driving instructor can provide training to novice drivers and potential driving instructors.

To become a driving instructor in the United kingdom,  you undergo a qualifying process, and the examination for entry onto the Register  is composed  of three parts:

 Test of theoretical knowledge
  Test of driving ability
  Test of instructional ability

Driving instructors are admitted into Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) Register after passing the three examinations. After being admitted onto the register of Approved Driving Instructors, there is an ongoing training /and testing for driving instructors.

To remain on the register, driving instructors are re-tested, known as the Standards Check Test. 5

In addition, there is a voluntary register, ORDIT (Official Register for Driving Instructor Training) set up for those involved in training driving instructors in aneffort to improve the standard of training available to potential driving instructors.

Reducing Road Traffic Crashes in Nigeria: The Way Forward.
The road traffic crashes statistics presented above is unacceptable and we must definitely be doing something wrong along the line. The way forward is to study why the road traffic deaths  are  very  low  in  some  countries,  and find ways  to adopting and  localising  their  success  stories  in  Nigeria. 

Whilst  other  countries adopt a stringent driver training and testing regimes as a way of tackling road traffic crashes, in Nigeria, we are more concerned with enforcement which have not yielded the needed results. This policy has not worked and there must be a rethink.

Presently in Nigeria, there are three agencies are involved in the processing of driver’s   licence,   namely,   the   State   Board   of   Internal   Revenue   (BIR);   Federal Capital Territory and State Vehicle Inspection Officers  (VIO); and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

The relevant regulation which spells out the procedure for driver’s licence is the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012. The procedure for fresh (new) driver's licence is as follows:

1. Applicant attends training at accredited driving school for at least twenty six(26) days

2. The   Driving   school   will   present   the   applicant   to   the   Vehicle   Inspection Officer (VIO) for driving test.

3. The applicant must pass the driving test and the Vehicle Inspection Officer(VIO) will issue a Certificate of Proficiency.

4. The applicant should apply in person at Driver's Licence Centre (DLC) by completing the necessary application form.

5. The applicant to pay the driver’s licence fee online via pay4me or directly through the platform at any bank.

6. The applicant will then submit the completed forms to the State Board of Internal  Revenue or  VIO at  the Drivers Licence  Centre for endorsement collect payment receipt for State Board of Internal Revenue.

7.  Proceed to the Federal Road Safety Corps Officer at the DLC for Biometric Data Capture 6

8. After   the   biometric   exercise,   applicants   will   obtain   temporary   driver’s licence valid for sixty (60) days and pick up the original driver’s licence at the State Board of Internal Revenue office after sixty (60) days.

As   our   present   approach   seems   not   to   be   reducing   road   traffic   crashes   to   anacceptable level, my suggested approach and way forward should be the creation of an Executive Agency (Driving Standards and Implementation Agency - DSIA), to be saddled with the responsibility for:

 Preparing   curriculum   for   the   training   of   Driving   Instructors   and   Driver Educators.

 Preparing curriculum for the training of Novice/Learner Drivers. Maintaining a register of Driving Instructors and Driver Educators.

 Conducting the qualifying examinations (theory, practical and instructional techniques)   for   entry   in   the   register   of   Driving   Instructors   and   Driver Educators.

 Collaborating  with  VIOs nationwide  to   conduct the  theory   and  practical driving tests for Novice/Learner Drivers in all categories of vehicles.Issuance of drivers’ licence should still be under the purview of the Federal

Road Safety Commission (FRSC), based on pass information of driving test provide by Driving  Standards  and  Implementation  Agency  (DSIA)  and Vehicle  Inspection Officers (VIOs).

The question that might be asked is how do we fund the new approach? It will interest us to note that the GDP of Nigeria in 2016 was put at $337 billion. Fromthe table above, our estimated GDP loss from road traffic crashes is put at 3%, which shows that in 2016 we lost in the region of $10.11 billion, that is about N2,022 billion (over N2 trillion) using a CBN exchange rate of $1 to N199.3 as at 3/12/2015.

A 1% GDP loss at the same period is put at about $3.37 billion, that is about N674 billion. A fraction of the GDP losses can be ploughed into setting upthe Driving Standards and Implementation Agency, with the aim of reducing road traffic crashes to the barest minimum and at the same time increasing our GDP as there will be fewer deaths on Nigeria roads.

Thank you for listening.