FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY COMMISSION

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROAD SAFETY IN AFRICA

ABUJA PLAN OF ACTION

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) organised an international conference on road safety in Africa as part of a series of activities to celebrate two decades of meritorious service to humanity. The activities took place from Thursday 14th February to Thursday 21st February 2008. The anniversary celebration afforded the Commission the opportunity to take stock of its past activities and to chart a course for the future.

The conference identified certain problems militating against the maintenance of safety on our roads: These include

• Engineering such as traffic signs, road markings, traffic signals, lane markings, etc.
• Infrastructure such as poor road maintenance.
• Health such as accident trauma, drugged and drunk driving, and lack of paramedic intervention.
• Inadequate government and alternative funding.
• Capacity building including lack of professionalism and inadequate training.
• Poor and inadequate utilization of stakeholders.
• Lack of integrated transport system.
• The vulnerability of road users.
• Inadequate investment in transport infrastructure.

• In view of the foregoing the conference resolved as follows:

• Road safety is a shared responsibility requiring inter-agency, inter-governmental and international collaboration.
• Governments and related agencies should create a reliable database and employ technology to promote effective road safety management.
• African countries should adopt the lead agency model as employed in Nigeria to manage road safety.
• Governments should provide a regulatory framework for road transportation.
• Governments should involve safety experts in the design and construction of transport infrastructure.
• African governments should invest in education and integrate road safety into the curriculum of their educational institutions. They should also strengthen their public enlightenment campaigns on road safety practices to foster safety conscious attitudes in road users.
• Governments should seek to establish road safety colleges to enhance the capacity and competence of road safety officials and to ensure national standards.
• African governments should allocate adequate funds in their national budgets to the development of road safety infrastructure.
• Governments should adopt appropriate road safety strategies and promote exchange of good practice.
• Road safety should be integrated into the development strategies of African nations.
• African governments should integrate safe road design concepts into their road transport infrastructure projects.
• The volunteer culture in traffic safety management should be promoted across Africa.
• Governments should muster the necessary political will to enforce road safety legislation that meet international best practice.
• African governments should promote the development of integrated and co-ordinated multi-modal transport systems.
• Governments should establish paramedic-training institutions and train-the-trainer programmes to enhance the capacity of road safety officers to assist road accident victims.
• Some of the practices in the airline industry such as the maintenance of passenger manifests, payment of insurance benefits/compensation to accident victims should be incorporated into the road transport industry in Africa.
• Governments should develop the necessary framework for more effective enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. This should include legislation establishing permissible levels of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).
• The capacity of the FRSC and similar agencies to provide first aid to accident victims should be enhanced.
• The FRSC and similar agencies should play advisory roles to governments in the development of transport infrastructure.
• This action plan should be made available to all governments and inter-governmental organisations in Africa.