For the past weeks, I have come under intense pressure from my colleagues in the media and also from some disturbed motorists over what they described as increasing insanity on Nigerian roads caused by learner drivers. Today, I am focusing on these groups of road users with the above title that might offend some of my readers. But before I fall under the sledge-hammer of any of these readers, let me first sincerely apologise and state that I mean no harm.
Secondly, let me state here that I chose the above title to drive home the seriousness of this development and the need to put a stop to it. Thirdly, I wish to also state that while I was pondering on the appropriate title for this piece, my mind quickly flashed to Oga driver, an interactive awareness program conceptualised by me and my colleague, Salihu Ibrahim Kindo of Aso Radio when I was the Sector Commander in the Federal Capital Territory. It was in the course of that program that we coined the above title as a way of raising awareness on the seriousness and risk involved in this driving behaviour, in addition to the need to draw a line between the good and the bad guys among learner drivers.
If you want to know what I mean by the good and the bad, let me first say here that from our observations, the good guys represent the learner drivers who are not ashamed to be tagged, "learners'' and as such display the "L'' sign as mandated by law. The bad guys on the other hand represent leaners that out of unnecessary ego and pride refuse to display the "L'' sign and even when they do, they willingly flout all the rules guiding a learner.
Specifically, the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2004, mandates all learner drivers to observe the following rules: attend a certified and approved driving school as a prerequisite to obtaining a fresh drivers licence. In the course of this coaching, the learner driver must display an L-plate- which is a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction, or a motorcycle rider with provisional entitlement to ride restricted motorcycles. What this means is that this rule is a universal convention with slight variations from country to country.
In the case of Nigeria, section 27, sub sections 1-3 of the National Road Traffic Regulations earlier cited spells out the details as applicable to learner drivers. For the purpose of this piece, let me stress here that besides displaying an ''L'' sign, a learner driver when issued a learners permit, must be accompanied by a licensed driver-instructor sitting beside him to drive a vehicle as stated in the permit from a period not exceeding three months from the date of issue within the highways specified in the permit. Besides these, the permit in itself forbids the learner from carrying any person no matter the level of affiliation except the instructor.
In addition, the learner driver must at all times comply with relevant traffic rules and regulations. Unfortunately, these provisions are daily abused by learner drivers who no doubt display the "L'' sign yet disregard the other provisions meant for their safety and the safety of others. The high flying learners on their own don't even display the "L''sign and arrogantly violate all other provisions. It is even strange that other motorists expose themselves to unnecessary risks by offering to drive in such vehicles. It is also strange that women by our findings in the course of patrols rank among the greatest offenders when it comes to infractions that have to do with learner drivers. It is very common to see women who are learner drivers on Sundays and during school run hours flout all safety precaution by carrying children in such vehicles and even doing the same on their way to worship centres.
I must emphasise at this point that the rationale behind the FRSC driving school standardisation programme which makes it mandatory for a fresh applicant to attend a certified and approved driving school, is to nurture a fresh generation of drivers who will drive by the rules and help the national projection of a zero level for road traffic crashes.
We therefore need to reappraise ongoing enforcement of these rules as we strive to meet the projected reduction of road traffic crashes by 20 per cent and fatalities by 30 per cent in 2013. As stated earlier, the rules governing learner drivers are universal with variations. Examples will be cited from various countries to drive home the point that no country toys with fresh or learner drivers as they provide the bedrock for building safer road safety system. The first country is Australia. There, the rules vary from state to state. A new driver holds a Learner licence/permit which has a minimum age of 16. This must then be held for a certain amount of time before a driving examination can be undertaken, usually 12 months later. After passing, the driver must display 'P' plates. Holders of a provisional/ probationary licence may be restricted compared to fully licensed drivers in speed, blood alcohol limits, limits on the type and power of their cars' engine (i.e., no more than 6 cylinders, no forced induction), and number of demerit points that can be deducted.
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) first commenced in Australia in the mid-1960s with New South Wales introducing learner and provisional licences in 1966. I will discuss the Nigerian Graduated Drivers Licence programme next week. In all states, newly licensed drivers are required by law to display P-plates for varying lengths of time. The P is usually a red or green letter on a white background or a white letter on a red or green background (Victoria & Western Australia only).
In New South Wales and Victoria there are two classes of provisional licence, red P-plates are for the first year after passing the Learner test and then after passing a computerised test, they are green for two to three years. Western Australia requires six months of red P-plates, where provisional drivers are under a 12 a.m. – 5 a.m. curfew, and one and a half years of green P-plates.
Agwu, a Corps Commander, is Corps Public Educations Officer, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC.
