Irish visitors are discovering that driving in Africa can be perilous. Thecontinent has four per cent of the world's motor vehicles, yet drivers thereare 100 times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes. Ian Noctorreports
Irish Army Ranger Sgt Derek Mooney had been in Liberia for less than a week when the four-wheel-drive vehicle in which he was travelling overturned killing him and injuring two of his colleagues. The 33-year-old peacekeeper was on a familiarisation patrol in an eight-vehicle convoy along a badly rutted track.
Sgt Mooney's death last November was one of many thousands on Africa's roads last year. An inquest in Dublin soon is expected to include road conditions as a contributory factor in the young soldier's death.
Proportionally Africa is the most dangerous of the five continents for motorists. A recent global study shows that vehicles in Africa, home to just four per cent of the world's vehicles, are 100 times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than in the EU or the US. Victims are 2.5 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries.
The World Health Organisation has launched a global campaign aimed at reducing the 1.2 million road fatalities each year. That figure is expected to rise by 80 per cent in less developed countries unless drastic action is taken.
"We are not talking about random events or 'accidents' - we're talking about crashes," says WHO director general Lee Jong-Wok. "The risks can be understood and therefore can be prevented. Road safety is no accident. We have the knowledge to act now. It's a question of political will."
Corkman Tony Walsh spent a number of years in Africa working in transport logistics for aid agencies particularly in Ethiopia. He agrees road accident prevention is possible. "There's no doubt about it - driving in Africa is dangeous. The driving environment is very harsh. There are no real roads. If it's raining the roads are extremely muddy, if it's dry they are cracked and unstable. You're basically driving long distances in very poor conditions. On top of all that you will encounter a lot of animals on the roads too."
For many people travelling to Africa to work with aid agencies or Non-Governmental Organisations, it will be their first experience of driving a four-wheel drive vehicle particularly off road. During his time in Africa Tony trained many drivers in how to safely handle a vehicle in less than perfect conditions.
"One of the most important issues involved was to get across to the trainees that skill is not the main reason for accidents in difficult terrain, it's attitude and behaviour.
"We carried out detailed assessments of driving capabilities linked to the cost per kilometre of maintaining the vehicles. What we found was that, if the cost per kilometre went up, it was probably down to breakages or crashes which arose from drivers going too quickly which is a factor as much of behaviour as it is of skill."
Economic development in parts of Africa has brought with it an upsurge in the number of cars and consequently the number of new drivers taking to the roads.
Uganda is one such state. In the capital, Kampala, Mick Farmer runs www.oncourse4wd.com, a driving school specialising in the preparing the student for the vagaries of African roads. He's an advocate of the WHO claim that political will can reduce road deaths.
"Every month 2,000 new drivers take to the roads in Uganda, but the standard of training here is abysmal. Corruption is rife so it's possible to buy a driving licence without sitting a test."
The attitudes of the authorities in Uganda has to change dramatically for there to be a change in driver behaviour, he says. "Here people tend to follow the example set by the authorities. Police drive without seatbelts at inappropriate speeds. I've just seen a policeman on a motor cycle without a helmet. There is no compunction on civilians to do otherwise, so why would they?"
Initial driver training is poor, he says. "Incorrect information is given to the learner. For instance, a student may be told to put the car into neutral and coast down a hill to save fuel!
"When approaching a roundabout another student asked, 'Which lane should I be in?' The instructor answered, we don't bother with lanes here in Uganda."
The WHO says that that the human suffering caused by road crashes is huge. "For every victim of a crash, there are family members, friends and communities who must cope with the physical, psychological and economic consequences of the death, injury or disability of a loved one," says Dr Jong-Wok.
"Crash survivors and their families must cope with painful and often long-term consequences of injury, disability and rehabilitation. In many cases, the cost of care, the loss of the primary breadwinner, funeral expenses or the loss of income due to disability can drive a family into poverty."