The federal government in 2009 awarded the contract for the dualization of the Abuja – Kubwa expressway to ease the heavy traffic that has become a source of worry for road users plying that route. However, reckless driving on the part of motorists has turned the expressway into a death trap. MICHAEL OCHE writes on the new fearful trend.
It is now ‘one week one accident’ on the Abuja – Kubwa expressway or perhaps as a senior colleague puts it, ‘a smooth road to hell’. The Abuja – Kubwa expressway, still under construction, has become a death trap. It records several ghastly auto accidents almost on a daily basis with several deaths.
Last Tuesday at about 8:00pm, a red Honda prelude car somersaulted and fell into a ditch just in front of the MOPOL barrack in Dei-Dei. It took the quick intervention of passersby and other motorists to pull the driver and the lady occupants out of the car before they were quickly rushed to the hospital.
Eyewitness said the driver was over speeding before the car eventually somersaulted.
Last week, seven persons lost their lives when an 18-seater commercial bus crashed into a DAF truck along the Kubwa expressway.
Witnesses said the driver of the fully loaded commercial bus with registration number XG 254 YAB rammed into the truck as it was crossing the road suddenly.
It took the quick intervention of other motorists and vehicle inspection officers who immediately after the incident, assisted in removing trapped passengers from inside the bus and placed them by the roadside to reduce the number of deaths. Other victims in critical conditions were rushed to the Maitama General Hospital.
The week before that, a driver and his passenger were lucky to have escaped death after the driver of the car lost control of the car before running into a barrier by the road side.
Motorists who ply that route say they are beginning to lose count of the number of accidents on the expressway.
Many people had thought that with the expansion of the Kubwa expressway would come relief for residents along tha t route as traffic jams associated with the road will become a thing of the past, but the residents now have contrary opinion as the road is turning into a curse rather than a blessing, with the rising number of accidents and deaths.
While accidents may be caused by bad state of roads, ironically in the case of the Kubwa expressway, the accidents are caused by the smooth state of the road.
Commuters that ply the very busy Kubwa expressway in Abuja have become endangered due to the high rate of accidents on the road that service the Kubwa, Bwari, Zuba, and Suleja routes from the city centre. The accident prone highway has now become a source of concern to road users.
Before the contract for the construction of the road was awarded and work commenced, the route was dreaded especially during the peak hours due to heavy traffic build ups. Commuters sometimes spend as much as three hours on a journey that would otherwise take 20 minutes.?
The award of the contract therefore, came as a respite.? Upon completion, the road would become an 8-lane expressway, with flyovers and overhead pedestrian crossings, to ensure decongestion of the road even at peak hours.
However, the road, which has achieved over 70 per cent completion, has become a death trap of some sort.? Instead of going at snail speed as it was in the past, commuters hurry along the completed portions of the road at break-neck speed.? This is believed to be the major cause of the accidents that now occur on the road on a daily basis, with several deaths recorded.?
A resident of Kubwa told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY: “There is no night on my way home that I don’t see someone being pulled out of a vehicle involved in an accident. Before now, it was never like this but I guess the drivers need to be educated to drive within the approved speed limit. The fine state of the road does not guarantee one to over speed”.
Another motorist, Uche said, “Drivers have now taken advantage of the smooth nature of the road to drive at break-neck speed”.
A civil servant who resides in Suleja, Ojo Olamide said: “I have also discovered that most car owners do not spend enough time to perfect their driving skills before venturing on the road. Because of their limited skill in driving and little knowledge of driving rules and road signs, they overtake recklessly, putting themselves and other road users in danger”.
Although residents continue to express joy over traffic flow along the Kubwa expressway, but road traffic officials have continued to caution motorists against reckless driving.
It appears the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, will be prepared to address the situation as it is believed that the road would experience more reckless driving upon completion. Although the public relations officer of the corps was not around when this reporter visited, a senior officer in the public relations unit, who would not want his name in print, said the corps was poised to handle the imminent challenges.?
“We are aware that road crashes could increase after the road is completed. We are going to curtail it, we are planning to increase our presence on that road, which we believe will caution motorists as they drive along the road. Already we have two units along the road, one at Kubwa and the other at Dutse, and we will increase our presence when the road is completed”, the officer said.
He stated further that there has always been road signs alerting motorists of diversions and that the? command has also stationed ambulances along the Abuja/ Kubwa/ Zuba road and other highways into the city, to ensure quick response to casualties in case of any road crash.
Meanwhile other residents have urged the government to speed up the proposed Abuja rail transport system as an alternative, saying that if government provides efficient rail or public transportation system, it will reduce the number of vehicles on the road, thereby reducing road accidents.
“These measures would go a long way in reducing the carnage on the road. It is my belief that there are too many cars on our highways. Most of the drivers are learners. But if the government provides more efficient public transport system people do not need to come to the city centre with their cars, and it will go a long way in reducing the number of the accidents on our highways”, Olamide said.
He, however, urged motorists to exercise more caution on the highway as an immediate solution to the problem.
Traffic jams witnessed daily along the Kubwa-Abuja expressway is almost becoming a thing of the past due to the near completion of the road by its contractors.
Residents say they no longer get to their places of work late or return late to their houses due to traffic jams. Also, the situation where residents wake up as early as 5 am, to meet up with staff buses is now a thing of the past, whereas the alarming rate of accidents is now a thing of concern that must be urgently addressed.