Road accidents in Cameroon: NGO faults government statistics on related deaths

An average four Cameroonians die as a result of road accidents every day, a Douala-based road safety advocacy non-governmental organisation, Securoute, has revealed.

By Yemti Harry Ndienla

But the disclosure disagrees with official government figures fixing the number of yearly accident-related deaths at 1.200. Martial Missimikim, Securoute president, told a news conference at the country’s economic capital that the government figure was erroneous.

To buttress his claims Missimikim says“Eighty percent of non-fatal accidents are not reported, and even when there are deaths, remains of victims are hurriedly evacuated and chances of compiling exact statistics are significantly reduced,”

According to Missimikim, overloading, the poor state of roads and vehicles, inadequate training of drivers, etc, are responsible for the recurrent accidents on Cameroon ‘s roads. He noted that the lives of thousands of school-going children in urban areas like Douala were increasingly placed at risk.
He made the statement on the occasion of the launch of the second national mass education campaign on youth transport safety. Every third Tuesday in October has been declared the International Day for Child Transport Safety.
Securoute, which militates in favour of greater road safety for children and youths, is working with the WHO to compile a road safety database for Cameroon. The report will be authenticated by the Ministry of Transport before publication by the global health organisation.
“Eighty percent of the school buses crisscrossing Douala do not have insurance cover. Ninety percent of them do not undertake an evaluation of their technical states. Ninety percent of motorbike taxi riders lack drivers’ licences and insurance and endanger the lives of the thousands of children they transport to and from school with risky driving,” According to Missimikim, overloading, the poor state of roads and vehicles, inadequate training of drivers, etc, are responsible for the recurrent accidents on Cameroon ‘s roads. He noted that the lives of thousands of school-going children in urban areas like Douala were increasingly placed at risk. .
Securoute is taking its sensitisation campaign to schools by encouraging officials and teachers to include road safety lessons in their programs. It is also targeting bus drivers and motorbike taxi riders to embrace safety measures as a means of curbing accidents