ROAD Safety Enforcement and Transit Trucks Parks Incentivization in Nigeria

Abstract

Truck traffic on Nigeria roads is perceived by all as a dangerous phenomenon that required urgent and immediate multi-faceted approaches from policy, technology and investment perspectives, so as to curtail the increasing trends of truck’s single and multiple road accidents in the country. One of the greatest challenges of truck accidents management as observed in the country is the prevalent operational hiccups among road safety law enforcement agents at enforcing and regulating transit truck drivers’ mandatory operational rest-hours in the country, with a view to countering driving fatigue related accidents among transit truck drivers. The aim of this paper is to identify incentives, based on the Nigeria road operating experience, that will engender compliance with mandatory operational rest-hours among trucks drivers after every unbroken eight hours stretch drive. The objectives are to investigate the transit trucks parks infrastructure gaps along the major freight corridors in the country; identify appropriate technology that will enabled compliance among drivers. The paper deployed the combination of desk-top and qualitative research methods to clearly present the depth of the problem. The findings revealed an unstructured (free entry, free exit) road freight movement administration in Nigeria, dearth of driving fatigue detection enabled technology; and noticeable investment gap in provision of conducive truck transit parks along major corridors. The introduction of technology enabled solution, investment in building attractive truck transit parks; and proper regulation of the road freight sectors are recommended as short and medium plans for minimizing truck fatigue induced accidents on Nigerian roads. The socio-economic implications of technological solutions will include reductions in numbers of fatal road crashes and improved service delivery.