Since the early 90s, vehicle accidents have remained one of the the prominent causes of deaths in Nigeria.
In 2012 alone, according to the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, no fewer than 213 deaths were recorded while 2,600 people were critically injured as a result of vehicle crashes across Nigeria.
FRSC reports hold that more than 70% of these accidents involved passengers in vehicles and trucks.
The reports also claim that large portion of the victims of these vehicle accidents were discovered not to be using their seat belts as at the time of the crashes which as a result usually led to serious injury and sometimes death.
Hence, wearing a seat belt is an effective way to prevent death and serious injury in a crash.
This is why the Federal Government, through the FRSC, the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and by extension, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) compulsory the use of seat belt for both drivers and passengers in automobiles front seats.
According to law, the penalty for driving without a strapped seat belt for both driver and passenger is the fine of N20, 000 for first offender while a regular offender pays the sum of N30, 000.
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As stern as the punishment may seem, it is not uncommon to find drivers on Lagos roads without using seat belts or drive with a sub-standard seat belt.
According to Mrs Atilayo Aderopo, a Lagos resident, most commuter bus drivers deceive the LASTMA officials by displaying a knitted belt across their body but those seatbelts are below standard seat belts.
“I was seating on a front seat of a commercial bus sometime ago and the driver didn’t care if I was using the seat belt or not.
“When he sighted some FRSC officials some meters in front of us, he brought out a belt and begged me to lace it as if it is buckled.
“The seat does not have a buckle that I can fix it into so I just strapped it around my neck.
“We drove past the FRSC officials and they did not notice that the seat belt was not in good condition.
“As soon as they sighted that we had seat belt tied across us, they looked other side,” she narrated
Commenting on why drivers don’t obey the law that compulsory the use of seat belt despite the fact that it is for their own good, Miss Ayantokun Temitope stated that commuters also contribute to the menace.
In her statement: “I have seen where a bus driver told a commuter to strap on a seat belt but the commuter refused to use it on the ground that he would soon get down.
“You won’t believe it that the passenger never got down till the driver was arrested by LASTMA officials for not allowing the passenger to use seatbelt.
“When the man attempted to walk away after the arrest, other commuters held him down to share from the punishment since he was the initial cause of the crime.”
Mr Akanmu Olusoji, a bus driver at Iyana Ipaja garage in Lagos, admitted that most of their seat belts are either substandard or in bad shape but said it was due to consistent usage.
“You cannot expect our seat belt to look the same as that of the private car owners because we use our vehicle to convene lots of people every day,” he explained.
“The rate at which passengers come into the car and pull the seat belt every time will strain the belt and it will either stuck-hook in the box or strain-lose outside the box.
“That is why we always pull it out from the case and tie it across the seat so whoever is seating on the front seat will only have to strap it round his or her body,” he added
Another bus driver, who pleaded anonymity, questioned why the monitoring agencies only target the commercial vehicle drivers but overlook the private car owners.
“These LASTMA people only arrest the commercial drivers but will pretend as if they don’t see military officers or policemen who drive around without seatbelt.
“They see them every day when they violate traffic laws on the road and these agencies overlook them.
“I believe this is why most of us do not regard the seat belt law.
“If they start arresting these people who feel they are above the law, bus drivers will also adhere to the law. The cost of a seat belt ranges from N1, 200 to N2, 000, so it’s not what we cannot afford.
“But LASTMA, FRSC officials and VIO officers need to treat everyone equal before the law,” he added.
Information got from a FRSC staff, who did not want her name to be published, revealed that adherence to the seat belt law is on the rise as new laws, more education, and technology have seen seat belt usage among Nigerian drivers improve from 11% in the 80s to nearly 85% in 2013. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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