BREAK THE DRIVE AND STAY ALIVE (P. 9)

By: Kofi Yeboah

IT was a Sunday afternoon in June, this year, and the sun was fighting back to regain its prowess after being subdued earlier by thick black clouds.
As I boarded the Cape Coast-bound 207 Benz bus at Kaneshie in Accra and took a seat at the back of the vehicle, one request I made to God was for Him to keep the heavens shut until I reached my destination.
That was because I did not carry an umbrella on me. The thought of asking God for a safe journey, as I normally did when I boarded a vehicle to travel, had been consumed by the fear of the rain and the sporadic roars of thunder.
A few minutes after taking off from the lorry station, many of the passengers could not resist the beckoning of sleep in that dull weather. Not even the several swerving, bumping into potholes and sharp braking of the vehicle could disturb the sleep.
But after about an hour’s drive, a lady who sat two seats behind the driver shouted at him to stop sleeping, and suddenly all eyes were opened and everybody flung their head up.
“What is happening?” Some of them asked. According to the lady, she had observed from the inside mirror of the vehicle that the driver was dozing off.
Her alarm probably saved us from a catastrophe, because considering the speed at which the vehicle was travelling and the slippery nature of the road, only God knows what would have happened had the driver not been awakened.
It was most likely that the driver was tired, having worked continuously throughout the week without rest as it’s normally the case with many commercial drivers.
Driver fatigue is one of the most dangerous elements that constitute the 80 per cent human error factor in road accidents in the world.
Studies conducted at the international level indicate that driving for more than 10 hours increases the risk of getting involved in an accident.
The most common signs of fatigue include yawning, lack of concentration, longer response times, feeling sleepy, difficulty in remembering places just passed by, wiping of the face and frequent blinking of the eyes.
These signals are mainly caused by a lack of sleep, long hours of driving, driving in the night, especially with passengers asleep, drinking alcohol when feeling tired, eating heavy food, driving on bad road conditions and excessive heat from the engine.
What is more serious is the fact that in most cases, the drivers are able to recognise such signals of their tiredness, but invariably, they don’t take them seriously and believe that they can handle the situation. But who can cheat nature?
According to international research, the drivers either underestimate the danger of driving when they are tired, or even overestimate their own ability of handling the situation.
Between 20 and 40 per cent of all single accidents are caused by tired drivers and fatigue is the cause of about 40 per cent of single traffic accidents.
Research conducted in Sweden indicates that fatigue is the cause of between 10 and 20 per cent of all road accidents, many of which are single accidents.
The situation in Ghana is not in any way different from that of other parts of the world as proved by a study conducted by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in 2006.
Although the National Road Traffic Act (Act 683) provides that driving vehicles for a continuous period shall not exceed four hours or an aggregate not more than eight hours in a period of 24 hours, but many drivers in Ghana, both commercial and private, indeed, drive between 12 and 16 hours a day for an average of six days in a week.
Out of the 500 drivers interviewed in the study, 75 per cent of them admit that they often feel tired when driving. Some of them say they experience the fatigue as they drive, while others say they feel it after the day’s work.
The study also reveals that 20 per cent of the drivers experience dangerous situations in traffic because of tiredness.
It further notes that the risk of getting involved in a road traffic accident in Ghana, as a result of fatigue is higher than the estimated global average, because of heat, poor conditions of the vehicles, the bad nature of the roads and the number of passengers in a vehicle.
Although 80 per cent of drivers consider fatigue to be a major problem, 70 per cent of them (the exception being those in the formal sector) work throughout the year without going on annual leave.
For commercial drivers in particular, the anxiety to meet daily sales and earn an extra income to keep body and soul alive, imposes enormous pressure on them to make more money such that sleep is never appreciated.
Another serious revelation in the study is the fact that 90 per cent of drivers take pain killers on a regular basis, while 50 per cent of them suffer from waist problems or backaches, with many others complaining of persistent headaches.
All these are clear signs of tiredness and yet the affected drivers continue to drive, oblivious of the danger they pose on the roads.
It is very obvious from the NRSC study that many drivers are not conversant with the Road Traffic Act and other legislations that guide good driving and road safety.
The Act provides, for instance, that drivers must have compulsory rest for at lest 30 minutes after driving continuously for four hours. Furthermore, the Act requires drivers to rest for at least eight hours in a period of 24 hours, calculating from the time they begin driving. But how many drivers are faithful to these provisions in the law?
Beyond the ambit of legislation, it is imperative for drivers to take precautionary measures against fatigue for their personal safety and that of millions of people they transport on a daily basis. They must learn to have enough sleep at night and share the driving, particularly for those who go on long distances.
Generally, issues about driver fatigue have not been given much attention in our public discourse. That is why many drivers and passengers are not conscious about the dangers posed by fatigue; that is why thousands of people are being slaughtered and maimed on our roads everyday.
It is to address this pertinent national concern that the NRSC last October launched a nationwide campaign on fatigue driving. The objective of the campaign is to create awareness of fatigue and the risks associated with it while driving.
The campaign is driven on the slogan, “Don’t drive tired - Break the drive, stay alive.” Commercial drivers, particularly trotro, bus and heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, as well as passengers are the target groups, in view of the fact that they are the most affected by the consequences of fatigue.
In order to ensure greater impact, the campaign employs comprehensive and effective communication strategies such as stickers on vehicles, television documentaries, radio commercials, posters, banners and outreach programmes in the local communities, districts and regions.
At this time of the year, there is an intensity of commercial activities as people prepare for Christmas. This is the period when many commercial drivers fall to the temptation of overworking themselves to maximise their incomes. But this is also the same period when the rate of accidents increases. So we need to be very cautious.
Sometimes, it is rather unfortunate to see the way people take interest in trivialities and issues that do not promote the development of human life. That should not be the attitude towards this campaign, because it is in the interest of everyone.
Ghana needs all of us alive and so it is our collective responsibility to check fatigue driving, prevent accidents on the roads and save precious lives!