First of all, I want to express my displeasure at the increased rate of accidents in nigeria caused by mostly careless driving and other attributes I would highlight, its like buying the newspaper of today ; you sure to find over 5 motor accident scene cases, it is really pathetic and unless we act right and induce what is to be done, we should expect more fatal car crashes in 2013.


Car Accidents are generally classified as single
vehicle either colliding with fixed objects or
multiple vehicle accidents in which two or
more vehicle can collide head-on.


The increased rate of car accidents in nigeria has been notably caused by the following ; speeding,drunk driving, seat belt wearing, careless driving , bad roads, Overconfidence and loss of control.

In as much as this Seven (7) factors are all important and have been the factors of motor accident cases in nigeria, but from statistical reports ; Speeding,Drunk driving and overconfidence has been the major catalyst of most car accident cases in nigeria. And I would love to elaborate more on this factors.


Just last week, an accident story was circulating the internet about 4 students from a particular university in nigeria involved in a fatal car crash apparently caused by speeding (over) and drunk driving. They all died.



Not forgetting the scary car accident figures we got from the festive period of 2012 : 280 DEATHS From 480 Road accidents. Half of those figures were caused by speeding and drunk driving.



Now in a country like Nigeria ; the lucky survivors of fatal car crashes would still insisting on not being at fault for the particular crash, pay attention to this quote :

"the feeling of being confident in more and
more challenging situations is experienced
as evidence of driving ability, and that
'proven' ability reinforces the feelings of
confidence. Confidence feeds itself and
grows unchecked until something happens, An Accident!"


Being so over confident when driving has been noted to display some sort of " I don't care attitude " while driving and " I am experienced! I know how to face any situation ", This over confident display then bring about Speeding and careless driving. In addition, they end up disregarding safety road signs ; Afterall they are so experienced and over confident, why should they obey road traffic signs?


A case of being in a public mass transport vehicle and you notice the driver speeding and also ignoring the traffic laws, you tend to express your opinion and try to caution him on his careless driving but you are likely to get this reply " You can't teach me my job! I am experienced ! I know how to drive very well ! "


Stats don't lie, even the so called confident and experienced ones are also involved in various callibres of motor accident cases, The issue of over confidence has eaten deep into our driving system in nigeria. Its good you feel over confident about your job, or making good grades in school but don't bring that into driving in nigeria, especially in the deteriorating state of our roads.


Also using the opportunity to appeal to passangers not to sit back and allow the driver to take all the decision and act like he is some kind of God, every single decision he takes on the road especially dangerous decisions would have a negative impact on you,Voice out your displeasure on his careless driving, Do not entertain risks. if he fails to comply, on sighting any of FRSC team on the road report to them immediately.


To say the least, it is really sad, the multitude of people we have lost to avoidable car crashes,especially the young lads who had a bright future ahead of them.


Keep this quote in mind : The equation is simple ; if you practice speeding and reckless driving, you likely to get an output of a fatal car crash, if not now, very soon.




Sad writer