By Rakiya A.Muhammad
A familiar sight often plagues Nigeria’s roadways: trucks laden with animals, goods, and passengers swaying under their weight. Although these overloaded vehicles offer reasonably priced transit, they present a severe risk to their passengers and all others on the road.
The apparent results are more accidents, damage to infrastructure, and a mindset that prioritizes profit over safety.
A trailer driver acknowledges, “I often find myself loading my truck to maximum capacity to meet demands.” “The competition is intense, and the revenues are meagre.”
But beneath this hustle lies a troubling reality: vehicle overloading is not just a nuisance but a lethal hazard.
The practice of overloading has emerged as a pressing crisis, and the consequences can be dire. Each year, thousands lose their lives to preventable road accidents, and countless families bear the emotional and financial burden.
Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) statistics show that in 2023, there were 10,617 road traffic crashes, 5,081 deaths, and 31,874 injuries.
The causes of the crashes included speed violations, overloading, continuous nighttime journeys leading to fatigue, wrongful overtaking, driving under the influence, dangerous driving, and tyre bursts (worn out and expired).
Road traffic deaths and injuries remain a significant global health and development challenge.
The World Health Organization reveals, “Road traffic crashes result in the deaths of approximately 1.19 million people around the world each year and leave between 20 and 50 million people with non-fatal injuries.
“More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycles,” it says.
“Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29. Yet two-thirds of road traffic fatalities occur among people of working age (18-59). Nine in 10 fatalities on the roads occur in low and middle-income countries, even though these countries have around 60 per cent of the world’s vehicles.”
“Road traffic injuries not only cause human suffering but also impose a significant financial burden on victims and their families, as they necessitate treatment costs for the injured and the loss of productivity for the deceased or disabled. More broadly, road traffic injuries seriously impact national economies, costing countries 3% of their annual gross domestic product. “
Vehicle overloading is a widespread problem that impairs performance and, significantly decreases control, potentially causing avoidable accidents.
According to a study on vehicle overloading and its effects on road safety in developing nations, half of the 3-axle trucks have overloads up to 101 per cent of their legal weight limit.
“Comparations between actual overloading data of 2-axle, 3-axle, and 4-axle trucks and the stopping distance illustrate the gravity of the situation, which needs a comprehension and effective strategy from the relevant ages,” notes the article published in the Journal of Civil and Environmental Research.
“It is quite apparent that the pattern of overloading for each truck category is similar and consistent throughout the four-month period, with the 3-axle trucks recording the highest number of violations.”
The study adds:”Although the Gross Vehicle Weight Violation (GVW) rate may be considered rather high, what is more alarming is the range of GVW values and degree of overloading beyond the allowable limit for each category of heavy commercial vehicles.”
It points out that the significantly high GVW beyond the permissible level for each commercial vehicle category would be a cause of major concern, especially in terms of the capability of handling the extra heavy commercial vehicle in emergencies.
“As such, the extra-heavy commercial vehicle may be hazardous and compromise the safety of other road users should such situations arise,” the study notes.
“In addition, the fuel consumption of the extra heavy commercial vehicle will increase significantly, and the final carbon footprint attributed to this extra heavy commercial vehicle will be higher than what it should be if the permissible GVW were abided to.”
Similarly, an analysis of the extent of overloading on Nigerian Highways published in the historical Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology, notes that overloaded truck occurrences are common in Nigeria and that axle-load control and enforcement are inadequate.
It reveals:” 20% of the 2-axle trucks and 50% of the 3-axle trucks have GVW violations. The 4-axle, 5-axle, and 6-axle vehicles are the main contributors to truck overloading occurrences in Lokoja-Abuja road, Nigeria, with 86%, 73%, and 94% overloaded, respectively.”
The study highlights that the axle load from weight-in-motion data is significantly higher than the ECOWAS standard weight on the Lokoja-Abuja road, potentially leading to accelerated deterioration and a reduction in the service life of the pavement structures.
“The frequency of accidents has become a significant concern,” states a frequent road traveller, Madam Victoria James.
“There is a necessity for increased awareness. A robust safety culture is essential to ensure drivers consistently avoid overloading.”
Mallam Ibrahim, a former driver who had engaged in the unhealthy practice of overloading, states, “Many drivers overlook the consequences of overloading, prioritizing potential financial gain.”
He underwent a profound change after being exposed to a series of campaigns by the FRSC and witnessing a fatal accident caused by overload.
“The driver of the overloaded truck, who was also speeding excessively, suddenly experienced a lack of prompt response from the vehicle’s steering. Unable to manoeuvre effectively, he lost control, resulting in a tragic accident,” Ibrahim recalls vividly.
“Based on my experience, I understand that an overloaded vehicle diminishes the driver’s control and operating space, which raises the likelihood of a road traffic crash; additionally, the brakes can overheat and become less effective at stopping the vehicle.”
Recently, the FRSC established an interagency task force in response to what Corps Marshal Dauda Aliyu Biu describes as recent pathetic developments around major corridors of Nigeria’s highways.
He explains that overloaded trailers carrying animals, goods, and passengers have been involved in entirely preventable crashes in recent months, resulting in the loss of lives and property.
Biu laments that crashes involving trailers carrying goods, animals, and passengers have turned the Kaduna-Abuja highway, a bustling artery connecting the southern part of Nigeria, into a deadly trap for motorists. He identifies the primary contributing factors as excessive speeding, overloading, and nighttime trips.
According to him, the FRSC’s statistical records of rescue operations on trailers carrying goods, animals, and passengers along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway show a sharp increase in these crashes, leading to increased fatalities and injuries.
He states with concern, “The ugly situation is happening irrespective of the aggressive public enlightenment and sensitization campaigns carried out by the corps across its formations nationwide. ”
“The corps has risen to the challenge of playing a cardinal role in curbing further escalation of crashes involving trailers on the highways, especially the case of loading trailers with animals, goods, and passengers.”
He continues, “One of the strategic initiatives is this interagency task force, which aims to complement conventional patrol activities and enlightenment campaigns that are already in place to address the issue.”
The task before them, he adds, was to enforce, regulate, and educate the motoring public on obedience to traffic rules and regulations and to rewrite the narratives to make a difference on the nation’s highways.
The Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 predicts that a growing and increasingly urban global population will overwhelm transport systems, especially those that heavily rely on private vehicles, due to the rising demand for mobility.
“Yet many countries continue to design and build their mobility systems for motor vehicles, not for people, with safety as the main concern,” the report notes. “This slows efforts to save lives and protect vulnerable road users.”
However, the report reveals that efforts to enhance road safety are having an impact and that, with the application of proven measures, a significant reduction in road traffic deaths is possible.
“ Despite this, the price paid for mobility remains too high,” it emphasises ,”urgent action is needed if the global goal of at least halving road traffic deaths and injuries by the year 2030 is to be achieved.”
