Skip to main content

City of Flying Helmets

When I first wrote the script about the helmet wars, I left a cliff-hanger. Well, here is the concluding part.
Two years into the helmet wars, we are almost back to square one. I cannot say for certain how many lives have been saved as a result of the usage of crash helmets, but one thing is certain, the authorities that are supposed to enforce the law have since turned it into another source of income.
Riders who do not wear or even possess crash helmets are supposed to have their motorcycles seized, but for a token (bribe), they escape the arm of the law (at least until the next police officer 'catches' them) and the cycle continues.
Being a superstitious environment, some passengers don't wear helmets because there have been rumors of people disappearing as soon as they adorn the crash helmet. Hence, it is not uncommon to see individuals holding the crash helmet a couple of inches from their head; which is supposed to be a dumb attempt to fool the authorities. Who is fooling who?
Isn't the crash helmet supposed to have a lifespan? Many of the crash helmets have seen better or is it worse days? They have lost whatever was supposed to protect the human skull in case of a crash, what you have left are plastic bowls with a rope as the harness or something in that category.
On a daily basis, you see crash helmets flying off the head of either the rider or the passenger; surprised? Don't be. Like I mentioned earlier, most of the helmets have reached the end of their lifespan and have not been made to retire yet. So, without the latch to secure it firmly on the head, the wind is very efficient in lifting the substandard contraption from whoever and whenever.
Imagine you're driving and suddenly, out of nowhere, a crash helmet did just that...crash into your windshield...you slam on the brakes? Swerve? Don't forget there are other drivers on the road, if not well managed, you are looking at a pile up and a very long day ahead or night.
The purpose of the helmet is to protect the rider and the passenger, it now poses a grave danger to drivers and other riders if it is not properly used. The case of flying helmets should be addressed by the relevant authorities because government sank billions of tax-payers Naira into the project nationwide.
As far as this goes, it is best imagined than experienced. The number of commercial motorcycles in Lagos alone is well over 295,000. Using that as a benchmark, we should be looking at some 600,000 new helmets every 18 months. But as far as reality goes, the last 30 months have seen the same bowls being used by the riders to get the better of law enforcement agencies.
Way forward? Let us think long-term when proffering solutions. Quick fixes will not get us anywhere and we will be worse off than we were before the quick fix.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WORLD SHAKER

The first time I said the words ''WORLD SHAKER'' was way back October 1, 2002. For the next 5 years, I kept on telling anybody that cared/didn't care to listen that I am a World Shaker even though I didn't fully understand what/how exactly I would go about shaking it. Sometime in 2007, God asked me who a World Shaker is and honestly between you and I, my head was blank; He [God] taught me right there and then that a World Shaker is someone who affects his neighbour positively i.e. someone who influences his neighbour to think/act positively; someone who adds value to another person. The power of 1 is so strong because that 1 person has the potential to influence 1 million others the world over; ergo, do all that is within your capacity to help someone think better. It is said that you act to the best of their knowledge per time; if you know better, you will do better. If you change a person's thoughts, you have inadvertently changed the person's li...
1 comment
Read more

HOPE + FUL - LESS = HOPE

#OccupyNigeria #FuelSubsidy #ABSURAPE #ALUU4 #MUBI #BOKOHARAM #PLANECRASH #FESTACRAPE #UNBOMBING #KIDNAPPING #PILEUPS #BUILDINGCOLLAPSE #FIREDISASTER It is evident that we live in a broken world and nothing we do will fix the predicament we the inhabitants find ourselves because we ourselves are imperfect and there is no way we can create a perfect system out of an imperfect mind. The mere fact that we go from one tragedy to the other shows that the change we seek has to start with us, otherwise, we will remain in the same dysfunctional state where things seem to work, only to take turns for the worse and degenerate into terrible situations which jolts us back to reality. That some of the tragedies we have witnessed in recent times are man-made and preventable is enough reason for us to realize that we need to consciously work on renewing our minds. Where's the love gone? Love for self precedes love for others and this will breed fore-thought and help your decision-making ...
1 comment
Read more

Highly Indebted

There is no self-made human being anywhere, we are all products of the people in our lives, a reflection of who they are. More often than not, we turn out just like the people closest to us, and we perpetuate or if at all possible, re-invent ourselves to chart a new course. I would like to appreciate some of those people who shared their knowledge with me. Sometime in December of the year 2000, my friend Bukola had told the class to expect someone who would come to teach us some science subjects after closing hours. I couldn't have imagined that the trajectory of my life would be altered forever. He sauntered in about a full-hour behind schedule, said simply "my name is Franklyn Eze, you can call me FRC" and after apologizing asked the about a dozen of us left in the class the question "what makes tomato red?" I was taken aback, not only because it had never crossed my mind, but because I had been asked by someone who was about the same age as me or a co...
2 comments
Read more