ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS PREVENTION: A CASE STUDY OF PLATEAU STATE – NIGERIA

Currently, the major problem associated with transportation sector is road traffic accident and has become a serious threat to humanity globally. On daily bases, many people are losing their lives and several others are sustaining injuries due to road traffic accidents and majority of these occur in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this research is to evaluate the causes of road traffic accidents with focus to identify the major causes in Plateau State-Nigeria. Road traffic accidents record for five years – from 2015 to 2019 – was collected from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) of Nigeria, Plateau State Sector Command. From the accidents record, 18 different causes were identified and a total of 1098 cases were extracted. From the results of the study, human factors were identified as the major causes of accident accounting for 59.5%, with speed violation alone contributing to 29.3%. 26.6 % of all the RTAs were caused by vehicle factors, 1.7% were due roadway/environmental factors. Other factors which were not under any the three main contributing factors accounted for 12.2%. At the end, measures that will prevent the frequent occurrence of road traffic accidents in the study area were recommended. They include total and strict implementation of road safety rules, regulations, and policies in Nigeria, providing realistic training to drivers, speed limiting devices should be installed in all vehicles so as to reduce the recurrent road accidents due to speeding, constructing traffic calming devices in residential areas, schools, and other public places, posting warning signs and signals, public awareness campaigns on anti-speeding should be conducted from time to time, and speed display boards and speed monitoring cameras should be placed on all roads.