THE TAXI DISCUSSION: COVID-19 PROTOCOLS, AND THE IMPLICATIONS ON ROAD SAFETY

“Nobody saw this coming; currently, nearly every country around the world is battling to cope with outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus, and this has led to dramatic changes in people’s lives in the past few months. It has implications for nearly every area of our lives and our work, even road travel and road safety is no exception, ” the plump taxi driver said, to no one in particular as he drove his car under the newly painted overhead bridge, expertly navigating the Tumfere-lowcost expressway as he transported two other passengers and me to work in Gombe, on a bright Monday morning. The light-skinned man in a blue suit and striped tie looked briefly out of the window; before turning to face the driver, he asked, “what impact will the COVID-19 guidelines have on road transport and road safety? ” The taxi driver, who seemed to be excited to have an interested passenger, replied, “The coronavirus outbreak and subsequent guidelines set by the government along with the impact of the virus means that fewer people are traveling”, he exclaimed. I pondered the implication of what he just said. If fewer journeys are being made because of travel restrictions in the country, it would mean that overall, there will be an increase in road safety because less traveling and people movement would theoretically mean fewer crashes. I also remembered that some radio programs and newsreels were showing empty streets in some parts of the world, and it was indeed true that there were no road crashes because of this. “At least one good thing has become the result of this pandemic, ” I thought. “The roads will be less busy and safe, ” said the driver. He reached the specialist hospital roundabout, and as soon as he taxied round the bend, he started lamenting about making less money because fewer people were taking public transport. “Fewer people are taking public transport, either because transit services have been cancelled partially or completely and because the COVID-19 protocols require people to maintain social distancing, ” the driver said. I considered what he said and quickly added that even though mass transit and public transport is usually safer than other methods of transport, better for the environment, and reduces congestion, it means that people are in close contact with one another for extended periods, making it easy for the coronavirus to spread. In addition, many people avoid crowded spaces in public transport because they fear infection. “If people choose to use their private cars instead of taking public transport, pollution and crash rates could increase”, he insisted. This is true I thought, the new COVID-19 guidelines that encourage social distancing was having a deleterious effect on road safety because with more private cars on the road, there is a more significant threat to road safety for all road users due to congestion, and this could lead to an increase in car crashes and road accidents. “But you should be happy, sir! At least you do not see those road safety staff who stand at strategic points to arrest public transport drivers who do not follow road safety regulations, ” the second man in the taxi, a chocolate-brown colored man with dreadlocks, began, with a full smile on his face. “You people are relaxing now”, He finished. Road safety implementation, policy, and enforcement may stall for now because the government would focus its attention on addressing the pandemic in the country, and other priorities, including road safety, are scaled back. This action will likely delay and cancel planned legislation and infrastructure implementation to curtail road safety guidelines defaulters. I considered the possibility that the pandemic and subsequent COVID-19 guidelines may mean a reduced capacity for the police and road safety enforcement agencies to enforce road safety to reduce the spread of infection. “That is true”, the taxi driver quipped, “they have to consider their staff safety and follow government regulations concerning the number of people that constitute a crowd, and so they send fewer people to enforce road safety regulations. ” According to the man in a suit, the most public will be distracted from road safety messages. Perhaps some of what road safety advocates might usually be doing might need to wait until COVID comes under control. I felt sad because the COVID-19 protocols have indirectly hurt the enforcement of good road safety practices. I wondered what could be done to improve enforcement of road safety measures even while combating the pandemic. Before we reached the next bend on the road, my dread-locked co-passenger, whom I noticed was wearing surprisingly good shoes, considering his rough appearance, remarked that the reduction in the number of road transport enforcement workers as a result of the guidelines concerning social distancing and crowded spaces may also lead to more road crash accidents since road users no longer fear arrest when they do not obey good road safety practices. “Just yesterday, there was a big car crash around vegas in Gombe, ” he added. “But there is even more reason than usual to drive safely, ” I said as we drove past the specialist hospital, considering that emergency services are stretched. Suppose there is an unfortunate occurrence of a road transport crash. In that case, it will impact the road victims since hospitals all around the country are already overwhelmed with trying to respond to the Covid-19 emergency. There are fewer beds in intensive care units and slower response by ambulances. I started to fear for my safety and all other road users, knowing that some drivers may take advantage of the COVID protocols, which has reduced the number of enforcement officers on the road to break many road safety rules. “I used to be a road safety community development service group member while I was a corp member in Gombe state. We used to work closely with the road safety agencies and many non-governmental organizations to develop strategies to ensure that legislation or initiatives made by the government improved road safety. We also held school workshops, training, street events, and campaigns, and meetings for promoting road safety, ” the passenger in the suit said when we were near the taxi park. “My friend, ” remarked the taxi driver, as a community, we find ourselves in challenging times, and all of those good works we do to improve road safety must be put on hold for now. “Yes”, I agreed, we can only contribute to road safety by adapting our messaging to incorporate road safety in the COVID message, by using social media, radio, and television because the COVID-19 guidelines set by the government stipulate that all large public gatherings be put on hold including those that promote road safety, the media is focused on COVID-19. So road safety messages struggle to be heard. All funding is being channeled toward the pandemic effort. We finally reached our taxi stop in town, and each of us alighted from the taxi after saying brief goodbyes. I never got to know their names, but these men made me consider the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the COVID-19 protocols on road safety in Nigeria. These guidelines may have reduced the number of people who travel, reduced the number of public transport users and road safety enforcement personnel, and completely stopped gatherings that could promote road safety. However, I was sure that these guidelines, in the big picture, are in place to promote our general safety. So I smiled and looked forward to the next taxi ride, to my subsequent intriguing taxi discussion.