I am Mnkong Emmanuel Saah, resident of Bamenda city of the north west region of Cameroon. And I am worried about the rampant road accidents that is claiming lives of innocent people especially in developing Countries of the globe. I humbly wish to first of all invite dear friends of this Community space, to see what road accidents are and the major causes of these fatal accidents that are claiming lives on our roads every day.
Road accidents are accidents caused by or arising out of collision between two or more motor vehicles or collision of a motor vehicle resulting in death or bodily injury which would give rise to third party.
An accident is an unfortunate, unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance usually resulting in an unfavorable outcome, often the result of carelessness or ignorance, thus claiming lives.
Human factors such as impaired driving, fatigue, and distraction are major causes of fatal car accidents. This emphasizes the importance of responsible behavior. Environmental elements like adverse weather and road conditions also increase accidents risks, as do mechanical vehicle issues.
It's should be known that developing countries account for more than 85% of all road traffic deaths in the world.
CASE STUDY OF CAMEROON:
The situation of road accidents in Cameroon is alarming and more attention by the road users and authorities incharge of road network need to be done, to avert these rampant unfortunate occurrences in the Country. For example; through my research I found out that just in 2004 - 2007, police reports from 13 police stations incharge of 243km Yaounde - Douala road section, an estimated overall number of people killed per 100 million kilometers driven was 73, more than 35 times higher than on similar roads. And vehicles traveling on opposite direction was 136 deaths. And the main cause of theses fatal crashes were mechanical failures, two third were due to tyre problems and the other percentages were due to hazardous overtaking and excessive speed. Infact the burden of road traffic injuries in heavy traffic roads calls for urgent intervention. I believe that changing the mindset of road users in this part of the world remains a great challenge but something still needs to be done to avert these unfortunate occurrences.
Permit me draw your attention to the realities of the road infrastructure or network in Cameroon.
The country's road network, which accounts for 85% of transport in the Country, suffers among other problems, from a lack of signaling and marking, cracks, potholes, poor rainwater drainage, lack of sidewalks and cycle paths, and disorder parking.
The road network in Cameroon comprises of motorways, national roads, regional roads, departmental roads and rural road. Most of these roads are characterized by potholes, degradation, while others are simply small or narrow to the increasing number of taxis, heavy duty trucks, private vehicles etc.
Case study of Douala - Dschang highway;
Reckless driving and road accidents on the Douala - Dschang highway is one of the main cause of accidents on this stretch of the road network, analyzing 382 accidents reports.
And in reality rapid road degradation in the major cities of the Country are some of the main causes of road accidents in Cameroon. Some of the newly constucted roads even get bad before they are officially handed over.
In Bamenda where I live poor road network infrastructure is a call for urgent action. The state of roads are bad, and more degradation, besides jumping in and out of cracks and potholes which cause a health problem to users.
Today in Bamenda, Ntarikon stretch of road I captured the practical example of how our roads look like. And that's why motorbikes and the users keep on losing lives on these roads on daily basis.
Infact a significant portion of the road network in Cameroon is in dire need of repairs with 41% of about 121.000 kilometers of the road network classified as being in tire need of repairs, according to officials.
