The Maiden Horn-Free Day

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, said in an interview two days ago that there has been no reason for him to make use of the horn in his car in the last one year. To the average Lagos motorist, this may be quite unbelievable. But the Lagos State Government believes reducing noise level in traffic to the barest minimum is possible, and should be commended for initiating the maiden Horn-Free-Day today, 15 October, 2014.

  Today, commuter bus drivers, motorcyclists and other motorists were expected to move around without using the horns in their vehicles as they usually do. Sirens from ambulances, police escorts and other vehicles are also not to be blared indiscriminately. The idea is to drive today with little or no noise from any vehicle.

No doubt, the State’s Ministry of Transportation and affiliated agencies, especially the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, face a herculean task in terms of monitoring vehicles to ensure compliance. But at the end of the day, the message would have been passed that a saner noise level can be maintained on our roads.    

The initiative, which is for the good of the average Lagosian that spends hours in traffic should lead to improved health of the population in the metropolis in the long run. But that will only happen if it is not perceived by motorists as a mere ceremony that restricts them for just one day. Frequent programmes towards ensuring that the message sinks into their subconscious should also commence. It would not be an easy task to change the age-long tradition of unnecessary horn blaring.

Programmes that will lead to a change in attitude from living in a very noisy environment that can easily be reduced can never be too many until the aim is achieved.   Because there is so much noise in our environment, from generators, loud speakers blaring music from record shops, motor parks, churches and mosques, airplanes and other sources, many Nigerians suffer in silence as they battle with inadequate sleep, exacerbating  already high stress levels. Less noise pollution will generally translate to living in a quieter environment with improved productivity premised on being in an environment suitable for  better thinking.     

But beyond the Horn-Free Day, we suggest that the State Government should also declare a day that it would restrict private car users from taking their vehicles to work or business premises in order to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. The private car owners should hop into public or company buses rather than take their cars to work.

Through this experiment, the  State Government could assess the traffic situation and come up with a lasting solution.

Although rail and water transportation are being harnessed in the state, more has to be done to reduce the nagging vehicular traffic. With over 200 vehicles per kilometre on Lagos roads, there are far too many vehicles on the roads.  This by far surpasses the national average of just 11 vehicles per kilometre of road, with vehicles estimated to contribute more than 70 per cent of the air pollution in Lagos.

The traffic situation in the state could also be improved if the movement of articulated vehicles is restricted. Although the state’s 2012 Traffic Law restricts the movement of trucks to late in the night, the truck drivers flout the law with impunity by plying the roads for 24 hours while law enforcement officers who should enforce the law look the other way.