In the past two weeks or so, numerous road accidents were reported which resulted in the deaths of close to a dozen people in the country. This is alarming.
Road accidents are among the leading causes of death in the world. In The Gambia, it has been observed that many people lose their lives yearly due to this menace. Most of the time, these are considered avoidable deaths.
It is necessary to look at it critically with a view to finding out the causes of these many accidents and seeking solutions so as to protect the lives of the people of the country. This is imperative.
One of the possible causes of these accidents could be poor road conditions. In some places, the roads are not wide enough, smooth enough or built enough to avert these accidents.
In fact, the truth is that there aren’t enough roads and as such one observes traffic jams almost all over the urban areas almost all the time.
The other possible cause could be in the attitude of the drivers who – many of whom at least – are fond of overspeeding. This is usually because they are struggling to make as much money as possible in a very competitive venture.
It has also been observed that some drivers are too young to understand the need to be cautious on the road. Whether these young people were licensed or not is not always clear.
If they are given license, then the issuing authority needs to revisit the criteria for the issuance of license to ensure that only those deserving are issued with driver’s license. This will perhaps reduce the amount of accidents that occurs on the roads.
The Government needs to launch a massive sensitisation program about road safety so as to curb the menace and save lives. The time is now!
