Contemporary Analysis of Variability in Road Traffic Accidents in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the spatial and temporal pattern of road traffic accidents in Lagos State, Nigeria, and to suggest preventive and corrective safety measures for reducing road traffic accidents in the study area. Road traffic accidents exert a huge burden on Nigeria's economy and health care services and current accident prevention interventions are sporadic, uncoordinated and ineffective. Using accident records from the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for a thirty two (32) year period (1970–2001), this study seeks to reveal the road accident patterns in the 20 Local Government Areas of Lagos state and Nigeria in general. The data were analyzed and compared using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results show that the annual number of accidents varies by Local Government Area and that the dependent variable i.e., Road Traffic Accidents, is well explained by the independent variables i.e., length of roads, presence of road safety corps, and population. Based on these findings, the study recommends measures to reduce traffic accidents and their consequences in Lagos state. These include proper traffic patrol at times of high accident occurrence, ensuring that drivers are constantly trained to ensure that they operate vehicles safely at all times, learning from other countries with better traffic management systems, ensuring adequate funding for the Federal Road Safety corps, and improving traffic control especially in accident prone days (e.g., weekends) and seasons (e.g., Christmas). These measures, if well executed, can contribute positively towards reducing the ugly incidence of road traffic accidents in Lagos State and Nigeria in general.