Increase in traffic accidents: Buses ultimately not so safe

The list of accidents involving buses only grows longer as the years go by. And yet, since the disappearance of the train at the end of the years 1980, the taxis that competed with the rails quickly almost disappeared in favor of the coaches. A disappearance which was explained by the confidence that travelers placed in the buses.

The 1st day of the first leg is fixed from 12 November 2022 : a bus from the interior of the country to Cotonou crashes in Allada. With : several injured. According to witnesses, the driver would be drowsy.

Friday 4 November 2022 : a bus leaving for Lomé falls in the middle of town, at the Hubert Maga roundabout in Parakou. On the field, there are 7 dead, to which will be added 8 others who succumbed to their injuries.

15 August 2022 : collision between a bus and a truck in Sori in the commune of Gogounou. With : at least 04 dead and over 10 wounded…

Indeed, more balanced, these means of transport were rarely victims of accidents, being driven by well-experienced drivers. With the proliferation of transport companies, user confidence began to decline, which is justified by the increasing number of accidents. In most cases, the cause of the accident is human. Either the driver falls asleep at the wheel or is distracted by the phone. Sometimes it is also bad maneuvers that cause collisions. Drivers crossing Benin from north to south are particularly notorious for speeding. They have earned a reputation as a driver who lacks respect for the lives of other road users.

This whole situation raises the question of the qualification of drivers. Generally, the latter enjoy great freedom and are not often controlled by the police. More, with accidents galore, this state of grace could well come to an end, especially since more and more passengers are losing their lives.

In addition to drivers, the owners of the transport companies are also at fault. Indeed, many buses are old vehicles that are good for scrap in Europe. They are imported at low cost, retyped and repainted which gives them an air of new. But very early, they reveal their true condition once put on Beninese roads.

When the buses arrive in the taxi arena, it was possible to cross most of the villages along the route from north to south but with time and population growth, the roads have become congested. In addition to the growing population, the number of vehicles in circulation has also experienced an exponential explosion. And as long as the roads serving the main cities remain in the current state, Changing direction of the crash curve would be a nearly impossible challenge.

Pierre MATCHOUDO