As the United Nations Global Road Safety Week ends today, Lagos State government has been urged to make the state’ non-motorised transport policy effective, as it is critical to reducing road accident fatalities.
The Captain of Cycology Riding Club, Temitope George, made the appeal, yesterday, at Iyana-Oworo, Lagos, when members of five cycling clubs and cyclists enlightened the drivers on the need to respect and accommodate other road users.
The campaign tagged, ‘Share the road’, highlighted the importance of sharing the road responsibly by all users. George stated that cyclists were the most vulnerable road-users, noting that in recent times, there were a number of deaths from hit-and-run on Lagos roads.
“Week in, week out, we ride on the roads and find out that a lot of drivers tell cyclists to get off the road, wondering what they are doing on the road. So, we studied the Highway Code and we got the definition of road users, which include motorists and non-motorists such as cyclist, motorcyclists, tri-cyclists and pedestrians. We are all road users and have a right to be on the road. If we share the road respectfully and responsibility, we can avoid road fatalities.”
Stating that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) disclosed that over 40,000 fatalities were recorded from road accidents yearly, she urged corporate organisations to sponsor road signs and billboards underscoring the importance of sharing the road responsibly among users.
A member of the Cycology Club, Yemi Osilaja, said that road users must know that they are not the only one on the road and so must be considerate of others.
“Motorists usually believe that they have all the rights of the road, forgetting that there are motor bikers, cyclists, pedestrians and joggers. Lately, there has been a lot of fatality as a result of lack of education of most of our drivers, not just commercial bus drivers. Even for the cyclists, they need to remember that they are not the only one on the road. If people are aware, definitely we would reduce the fatalities on the road,” Osilaja said.
