Do you know that globally, the use of phone while driving which has
been my focus for the last two weeks is under-reported by the relevant
authorities? Do you also know the same underreporting applies to road traffic
crashes caused by the use of phone while driving distraction? Do you know that
there are numerous challenges in collecting and reporting reliable crash data?
This challenge is irrespective of the clime although it is more problematic in
low and middle income countries such as ours. Do you know that the story is the
same in our clime as most motorists including the classy, educated, as well as
the very religious will rarely own up to using the phone when arrested or even
when involved in a road traffic crash?
I remember a very hilarious incident some years back when I was sector commander in the Federal Capital Territory. As the Sector Commander, the current Corps Marshal Dr Boboye Oyeyemi charged me to creatively address the ugly trend. To checkmate the rising wave of driving and phoning infraction, I embarked on a unique intervention to address the rising scourge. The campaign was in collaboration with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA 2) under the watch of Wole Coker who insisted live feeds from my Command. The novel campaign/enforcement intervention involved using unmarked vehicles with plain clothes materials backed with video and still camera. Whenever we spotted an offender, we ensure the infraction is recorded using the still and video camera and thereafter, we pull over the defaulters and interview as well educate them on the dangers of using the phone while driving. All recordings were then submitted to NTA who would then run the feed as news on network. You can call or tag the campaign ‘’Show of shame’’.
After days of the campaign, we received positive reviews on the novelty and creativity behind the idea. As Sector Commander, I felt tall despite my Julius Agwu look -alike height. However, after series of arrests were made, we ran into a driver who was driving and using his phone. We tailed him from Zone 4 junction in Wuse in Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory up to the Central Business District just after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. We pulled him aside but noticed as we approached him that he had quickly dropped his phone underneath his car seat. When he stopped and came out, he denied ever using the phone while driving despite witnesses who confirmed that they also saw him. To stop the discourse from dragging and guard against any kind of assault from onlookers, I moved closer to him and gently asked him, ’Sir, between your God and your yourself, were you driving and phoning’’. Like a comic actor, he paused, looked up to the heavens and said,’’ between my God and I’? At that point, the tape was cut because it made for a good cut for broadcast which was, as you can guess, aired on NTA network |||READ MORE
