The need for Nigerians to be safeguarded in the best way possible creates a vacuum which should be filled, not at the detriment of the same Nigerians supposedly safeguarded. Below is a brief appraisal of how all involved parties are affected by the existence of roadblocks or more appropriately, checkpoints. Without doubt, we know as a fact the corruption that ensues at these points and the level of abuse of the purpose for which these checkpoints were put in place in the first instance.
On the Roads[/i]

The drift causing curves

The spiral effect of cars getting past mounted checkpoints on roads by negotiating contrived bends is the speedy degradation of that portion of the road stretch in comparison with other road portions. According to Brett Neal (Pavemanpro.com), abnormal road deterioration can be caused by different reasons, which might be natural causes like sunlight and rainfall. Others include human error in construction like, insufficient or improperly compacted base below the asphalt, over and under compaction of asphalt, improper temperature of asphalt when applied and poor drainage.

This class of road-user induced deterioration of road portions owing to certain kinds of checkpoints is simply avoidable. As it shortens the life span of roads expected to last at least up to 25years. Roads intended to accommodate bends and turns are designed and built differently.

Heated spots

Just like in sport, any weak link can endanger the whole team. Heated spots on roads are known to buckle overtime. The seepage that follow can cause water to penetrate the top laid asphalt when the binding glue wears off, and this goes further to wash off the base which can induce cracks even on other nearby portions. Concentrated heated spots which rapidly weaken road surfaces come about at night because, most road blocks are lit up via crude methods like burnt tyres or wood. A more natural cause that can induce this over a longer space of time is sunlight, which however, isn’t unevenly concentrated on spots. These spot can degenerate to becoming portholes.

Uneven road deformation

Cars are lighter in motion, forcing these heavy weights on certain spots too frequently on portions of road surfaces creates different kinds of pressure and impact points. As hypothetical as this might sound, I will urge you take note of the state of road surfaces close to or on which these checkpoints are mounted. You will agree that these points that force vehicles to stay stationery for extended periods are more prone to deteriorating quickly; at a rate more than that of surfaces that enjoy free traffic flow. As experts will agree, high friction surfaces like road surfaces close to traffic lights, road intersections and all anticipated stoppage points are taken account of in road design. In comparison with regular road construction, better materials and thicker asphalt coatings are employed on these high friction surfaces, so when road blocks are randomly created on regular roads, it accelerates aging of such road surfaces.

[i]On the cars[/b]

[b]Higher levels of fuel consumption

Stopping too frequently for several road blocks doesn’t happen without downshifting to lower gears, which takes up more power from your engine. The outcome of this is spending relatively more fuel to get around due to spending more time than you averagely should, fiddling with lower gears. For automatic transmission(especially older models) cars, the case is worse as the torque converters of their gearboxes are constantly connected with the engine. This particular reason is why vehicles with automatic transmission are less economical than their manual counterparts with the same engine capacity.

Also with brakes, as one is most likely driving up levels of his/her brake pad’s wear rate when around these checkpoints mostly due to harsh or frequent braking. The combination of these two is the main culprit behind accelerated pad wear and that’s what happens most of the time around these blocks. Most drivers don’t anticipate these blocks, thereby forcing them to come to a halt. This equally doesn’t happen without increasing suspension work and affecting other components with abrasive surfaces like; clutch discs in manual transmission cars, which can wear harshly too at these points.

Ultimately on the people[/b]

[b]Increased levels of driving induced stress

Hold-ups traditionally induce ‘erupting emotions’ in most cases, especially when unforeseen delays like checkpoints cause a hindrance in traffic flow. Flowing traffic induces the least stress. Clutching down and changing gears in conventional manual cars, ceases to be fun when you have to do that too often in a short space of time or when one has to hold the clutch down to idle. At such moments the only thing moving swiftly are signals to and fro your brain, which ultimately raises an average human’s stress and fatigue level. These effects come to live in form of hurting knees, muscle cramps and painful body joints.

Its pocket deep

The frequent brake pad change and extra fuel consumed for example, drives up spending and extra cash commitments depending on your daily route. However, other aspects of this financial involvement you might not quite be taking account of are; the extra time you spend in getting things straight and repeated labour cost.

YES! The Government too[/b]

It doesn’t make much sense to kill a rat with a sledge hammer. Our roads are already under enormous pressure, which have naturally driven up their maintenance cost. With roadblocks in place as well, it means more money has to be spent. Another angle to this is the cost of mounting personnel on highways, monitoring and deploring them isn’t without extra cost too.

Let’s quickly examine the pros, do these checkpoints thwart crime?

It is common belief that when travelling across states in Nigeria, if you don’t see these men (policemen) on the road especially on spots they normally would be found, you have a reason to be bothered. These men actually put their lives at risk for rewards which ideally, might not materialize immediately.

In conclusion[b]

Establishing checkpoints on Nigeria’s roads was government’s reaction to the phenomenal increase in the activities of robbers on the roads. A pro-active measure that initially yielded desired results but over the years, we have seen streaks of unparalleled abuse and unprecedented proliferation of these supposed critical points of security. It’s clearly time for other methods of achieving safer roads to be exploited, especially effective use of available technology which ultimately cuts down cost overtime.
http://www.autobaseafrica.com/analyzing-the-effects-of-road-blocks-in-nigeria/