ROAD SAFETY through Jonas Agwu
Today, I hope to draw the curtain on my focus on 20 years of seat belt wear. But just as I was thinking about this part of the moment, David, my classmate, made an unscheduled stop and praised the Corps for the cultural surprise that Despite his reassuring thumbs to the Federal Highway Safety Corps for this feat, I also shared with him my private reservations about the need to review seat belt enforcement.
As I told you last week, the good fortune is largely due to the media that led to the race to buy seat belts on the market through those whose cars did not have this important function. Thus, some time after the decisive implementation of the use of front seat belts at the national level, a compliance point of approximately 90% was recorded throughout the country, which erased previous considerations expressed through the leaders before starting the implementation.
I do not forget very well that when we were about to start, the UK organised and implemented the seat belt crusade for over 22 years and a report appeared that millions of pounds had been voted and were still being voted to raise awareness. and in achieving a greater point of impact. On the other hand, we had a bit of success with the scarce resources provided only through Boboye Oyeyemi at the beginning. So far, despite those provided only through the government, as well as some decided road protection actors, we want more funding, as well as a partnership to boost and maintain the momentum of the crusade.
Twenty years later, it’s about revising the county’s seat belt factor to accommodate conversion times and minimize deaths. While the new initiative remains a key good fortune for the Corps, the speed of adoption for other users has been epileptic. Because of what one observer called the lack of sustained application and increased awareness.
We recognize that there are gaps to fill to verify novelty. First of all, there is the fact that we have not yet managed to impose the use of front seats on passengers. Secondly, the preponderance of the category/type of automobile advertising of approximately 4,867,217 that mainly satisfy transportation desires in the absence of an effective intermodal system, as well as an effective transit system, is a challenge.
Third, despite the World Health Organization’s alarm that road traffic injuries are one of the leading causes of death among young people and young adults aged five to 29, we have not yet addressed this challenge head-on. Records show that, worldwide, approximately 186,300 young people under the age of 18 die each year in road accidents. However, the child protection seat, often referred to as a child protection seat, child restraint system, child seat, child seat, car seat or booster seat designed in particular to protect young people from injury or death in collisions is not yet enforced, there have been some crusades such as the joint crusade with the Nigerian Society of Engineers and Mobil Oil.
On this basis, I believe that the time has come to do an autopsy on the impact to increase the stakes and strengthen the methods to correct shock trends. As a reminder, the seat belt crusade with a significant number of users did not require and still does not require buying or repairing anything in vehicles. Therefore, it did not impose any monetary burden on the owner of the vehicle or passengers. All the Corps has asked is that the occupants fasten their seat belts while they are moving, as defined in the National Road Traffic Regulations.
But as we plan to play with this idea, it is interesting to inform you about the advances in the UK where, despite the point of good fortune recorded and the amount invested in raising the point of awareness, the government is being recommended for the seat. belt messages, as well as introducing penalty issues to increase the compliance rate.
Interestingly, wearing seat belts while sitting in the UK will surprise you. For starters, the use of motive power is rated at 97%, while front passenger use is 96%. The rear passenger’s score is 92%. However, the desire to give a boost to consequences for offenders remains a concern, as evidenced by the effects of an observational survey, conducted in the fall of 2021, which found that more than 5% of driving forces did not wear seat belts at all. Vehicles. types.
The front seat passenger number is almost similar, as it found that non-compliance rates reached more than 8% among rear-seat passengers. for front seat passengers and 91. 5% for rear seat passengers. Among motorists, compliance rates exceeded 97. 2% for drivers, 96. 8% for front seat passengers, and 92. 2% for rear-seat passengers.
However, with the knowledge that 23% of car occupants killed in 2020 were not wearing seat belts, the Department of Transportation says that those not wearing seat belts are “disproportionately more likely to be killed in road crashes. ” highway”. This underscores my call for a post mortem, as seatbelts are probably the biggest lifesaving device ever carried in cars and require improved messaging, while the app wants to get stronger.
The wave of accidents, as well as the type of cars used for advertising transport, raises basic questions and the need for new awareness crusader strategies, as well as higher fine regimes that I addressed a few weeks ago. Seat belts have been found to be the most effective road safety device for preventing deaths and injuries in crashes.
Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of accident injuries by 50 percent, according to the National Council on Global Safety, especially in the face of expanding technological advances in cars with high-tech distractions and the need to install machinery for that at the event. From an accident, the minimum point of injuries and fatalities is recorded. That is the general mandate.
In conclusion, a significant number of drivers and front passengers now wear their seat belts, maintaining the compliance point demands a more severe penalty, as further improvement is the key to reducing injuries versus the accumulation of injuries. at night, as well as the formation of head-on collisions. We will have to settle for the fact that dressed in the port dress with the port dressed in the dress of seat belts was a revolutionary strategy to avoid deaths and injuries on our roads and that deserves to be thought of as a precedent of government, drivers and a public health problem.
Champagne can break, but the fact remains that the existing angst known as fines for defaulters does not underscore the seriousness of the threat of default. Seat belts are important in the event of an accident. New technologies offer the option to avoid many accidents. Before adopting these new technologies, we want to seek acceptance from the public, which demands undeniable belts and does not spend cash to stay alive. To all those who have played an important role, I say please, the time has come to return to the trenches.
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