Academy unveils solution for ‘hit and run’ crashes in Lagos

Disturbed by the incidence of ‘hit and run’ accidents in Lagos State, students of leading advertising and brand communication school in the nation’s commercial capital, O2 Academy, have unveiled a solution to tackle the menace.

Executing a social community project in this respect, the Loeries’ Awards-winning young creative minds, guided by their resident instructors, chose a school on a busy street in Lagos and painted a 3D zebra crossing in front of its main entrance.

The optical illusion of the 3D design from the drivers’ perspective was an obstacle while from the pedestrians’, it was flat.

Within the first 24 hours of execution, it was observed that motorists were puzzled by the life-like design of the crossing, leading them to slow down and halt their cars allowing school kids as well as adult pedestrians to cross with ease of mind.

The innovation, according to the provost of the academy, Mr. Ozone Mbanefo, had attracted the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

He said: “This is a feat to support nation building. So, we decided to creatively provide a solution to the ‘hit and run’ menace in Lagos State by going beyond advertising to ACTvertising, influencing human behaviour positively by controlling the drivers since we cannot control the kids.”

According to him, the ‘hit and run’ menace accounts for 38 per cent of motor accidents in Nigeria and the figures have been rising at an alarming rate.

“A higher percentage of these victims are school kids and a major reason for this are reckless motorists who have no regard for zebra crossings,” he added.