Was That Mass Fatality Another Accident?

My brother CKN was the first to alert me on the breaking news. It read, Death toll from Saturday’s Petrol Tanker Explosion Rises to 50’. Few hours later, I called my colleague to confirm the real status of the crash and my fears were confirmed. The fatality figure was frightening to say the least.

It didn’t matter whether it was just one soul or more. The important thing is that souls were lost. Incidentally while rehashing the incident with my sister, she quickly chipped in and said it was not a crash but an accident. I angrily cut in and told her it was a crash because it was avoidable.

She then challenged me to prove my position. In a relaxed tone, I begged for her patience for me to lay bare the variables involved in the crash. First, I reminded her that an accident is an event without apparent cause or that is unexpected. I also reminded her that sometime in 2001, the British Medical Journal banned the use of the word, ‘accident’ to avoid the connotation of unpredictability, since most injuries and their precipitating events are predictably and preventable events.

And that over fifteen years ago, leading epidemiologists described the belief that injuries are accidents as ‘the last folklore subscribed to by rational men. Again,I reminded her of the position of the former World Health Organization Director-General,   Dr Lee Jong-Wook,  who while launching WHO’s Safe Road Day in April 2004, said that ‘accident’ is not constructive.

He noted that too often, road safety is treated as a transportation issue, not a public health issue, and road traffic injuries are called ‘accidents’ though most could be prevented. As a result, many countries put far less effort into understanding and preventing road traffic injuries than they do into understanding and preventing diseases that do less harm.

After the turenchi, my focus was now on the real issue which is that a loaded fuel tanker, according to report, fell on the Dikko-Maje road. Secondly, people rushed to scoop the spilling fuel. While attempts were being made to transfer content to another tanker, PMS came into contact with a generator used to effect transfer, triggering an explosion and the resultant fatalities.

I told her I would not dwell on the death figure. In real terms, I asked her what was the condition of the fuel tanker that fell? I am talking about the mechanical state of the tanker supposedly conveying a product that is inflammable. Was the vehicle certified to be on the road with such a product?

Who was behind the wheels and what was his state of mind? What was his competence and experience to drive such a vehicle? Was he licensed? What traffic rule did he flout that warranted the Niger State Governor to ban driving against traffic? Was he driving against traffic? Or speeding?

While appreciating first responders’ efforts, what was the response time when it occurred? Did we have enough personnel to cordon off the scene? Were the relevant Agencies, especially the Fire service, and others whose roles are vital in such an emergency available? When did they arrive? Was it before the explosion to enable cordoning the scene or after the explosion?

We have severally been confronted with such trucks driven by underage drivers. Was this the case? Investigations will unravel the details. What was the state of the road? How long has the state of the road been like that? And why do these trucks fall? In the opinion of the Petrol Tanker Association, the frequency of these incidents is as a result of the road conditions, lack of enforcement of safety measures, including speed and load limits. I dare say it is as a result of failure to operate within the ambit of best practices.

I acknowledge the steps taken by the Niger State Government after the incident, especially the ban on heavy duty plying one way through Dikko Bridge. This official pronouncement which is in line with the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations requires vital tools to be enforced. I also acknowledge the current Federal Government’s avowed commitment to fix a road they met in a bad shame. This should be complimented by State Governments.

This cash was not the first and it won’t be the last. In 2020, November 5, there was the Ibadan petrol tanker explosion on the Ibadan-Ife road. It destroyed many vehicles and killed many. The story was the same in 2018 and 2019.In October 15 2024, a fuel tanker exploded in Majiya, Jigawa State killing many people and injuring others.

Were all these accidents or avoidable crashes? What punishment was meted to the drivers or culprits of the 2018, 2019 and 2020? And what punishment would be meted to the driver of last week’s crash should the investigation find him culpable?  Would he be given a pat or a slap on the wrist that mocks the value we place on lives?

I do not wish to bore you with the causes of road traffic crashes. The causes of many crashes are well known. We know that there is an increased risk of a collision when drink driving or speeding are involved. There are distractions and possible collisions when we drive and use mobile phones at the same time. The same is the case when vehicles are not maintained.

Yet despite sustained interventions through enforcement and education by the Federal Road Safety Corps Management in collaboration with relevant Agencies and partners, a handful of fatal crashes still involve a drunk driver and twice as many fatal crashes involve excessive speeding.

 Others are attributable to brake failure, fatigue, fallen petrol carrying tankers, convoy drivers among others .While efforts have been doubled to reduce such incidents through the compulsory installation of speed limiters in vehicles to checkmate speeding, crashes such as these still occur. In the case of the UK, half of all drivers in the United Kingdom for instance, admit to breaking the 30mph speed limit.

In our clime, it is rare for drivers to own up to their errors unless when unveiled by the report of a crash investigation. According to RoadPeace, endemic is a more accurate description for speeding than is accidental. Fatigue contributes to significant percentage of fatal crashes in both low and middle income countries. Yet, fatigue is a condition that comes on gradually and with clear warning signs, and so cannot be considered unexpected.

Rita Taylor,a member of RoadPeace, Bristol Group wonders why it is an ‘accident’ when someone dies or is injured on our roads when in actual fact, someone took a deliberate decision to flout the traffic laws, yet it is manslaughter or grievous bodily harm in other circumstances.

How can it be called an accident when the victim lying dead in a pool of his blood on a public street was merely using a zebra crossing in line with best practices to cross a road and was killed by a reckless driver who failed to obey the rules at a Zebra crossing? A driver who couldn’t even stop to assist the dying victim?This is why the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed and his teams need all the support to succeed.