CREATIVE WRITING - TRANSPORTATION OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SAFETY IN NIGERIA[ STAY SAFE THIS END OF THE YEAR, DON'T BE INTOXICATED BY ANY CELEBRATION]

A. High way code: Before parking a vehicle, check your mirror and look out for other road users signal to show your intentions to stop. Remember the look– signal move routine

B. UNSAFE/ ILLEGAL PARKING: The aim of this article therefore is to examine illegal or unsafe parking of vehicles, the harms and what government has done so far to ensuring that it does not claims lives and cause so much occupational hazards to employees.

Illegal or unsafe parking can be described as road obstructions or wrong parking’s in prohibited areas either permanently due to vehicles breakdown, or loading and off loading off passenger at non-designated areas that can result in road transport accident (RTA). Most of the times, such designation areas by Signage identification such as NO PARKING. Parking in such areas therefore mean that your vehicle will obstruct the views of other road users or constitute danger to them.

A. Some of the unlisted constituted unsafe or illegal parking areas are:

★ Road junctions

★ Bend or corners

★ Narrow bridge

★ Bus stop

★ Pedestrian crossing Exit

★ School entrance

★ Left hand site of road at night

B. Emergency Entrance Exit

Vehicles should not be parked to block or with 15 meters of the entrance through which emergency go in and out that is near the entrance:

★ Hospital

★ Road side clinic

★ Road Safety

★ Fire Station

★ Police Station

★ Marked

C. Parking on a slope In other to avoid your vehicle rolling down the slope or being forced down in the event of collision, always apply your hand brake.

D. Road with kerbs If you are facing uphill on a road with kerbs to your right, turn your wheel as much as possible to the left. The kerb will prevent your vehicle from rolling backward.

Government Ministry with the oversight function, piloting enforcement unsafe parking is the Ministry of Transport. Other agencies of government are:

1. The Nigerian Police Force

2. National Civil Defence Corps

3. Federal Road Safety Corpss

4. Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) otherwise known as the Road Transport Officers (RTD).

The mandate of the listed agencies of government which include amongst others checking improper or unsafe parking which ultimate result in road crashes or road accidents.

Many State Government plays major roles to ensuring safety on our roads. Given that transport is part of our everyday lives, it is important to remember that safety should not only be a prior for driver, but also for every road user.

Compliance with legal requirement and road safety measures is the responsibility of every road user. Drivers must obey the rules, brake on time, obey road signs adapt their speed to the road condition in order to minimize risk to themselves and other road users.

However, road risk are always present and it is therefore important to take OHS measures that can minimize the risk of accidents, Drivers must always be medically fit and have proper adjusted seats so that can drive without any restriction.

Regular maintenance of vehicle and road signs are equally important to ensure road safety, in an occasion parking is to be made; it must be in an allotted parking lot.

As you will embark on any journey I pray for your safety,

"NB" all images are my property. Stay safe.