Hurray to the new speed bumps in Abuja. Although their emergence have been met with mixed feelings. Some love it and some absolutely detest it. I was talking with a friend this morning; she is one of those people who doesn’t understand the concept of having speed bumps on a highway or within some urban roads. sHe argues that the idea behind the speed bumps is lost when you put it on a highway where people are supposed to drive freely.
Another friend, who is well travelled points out that abroad and by this I mean America; speed bumps are put just before a toll gate to alert you that you are approaching it and drivers who tend to get sleepy are usually bumped awake (pun intended). But he also agrees with my cousin that putting them in some major streets takes away from the idea of speed bumps as it makes driving on a major road very uninteresting and it can even cause traffic to build which is something I actually noticed this morning at a junction in Maitama.
It’s easy enough to figure out why these speed bumps are necessary. Drivers in Abuja speed. Accidents in Abuja are always major and catastrophic and Nigerians usually need control. Despite all the FRSC safety campaigns, the traffic lights, the traffic wardens, the road signs etc accidents are still occurring, people are still getting hurt etc. maybe this is the governments way of taking control of the situation or are they just being misled?
Your opinions matter. Please leave a comment about these new barriers to speed on the Capital City roads, do you think they are going to do more harm than good or are loving them.
Oh by the way, an Abujanite who has three school kids, is happy about the development, as she is always worried that a speeding taxi will ram into her and hurt her kids. I have mixed feelings, I took a cab around Abuja and the driver was extra careful at junctions because of the bumps, it kindda felt safe. But when I drove myself around later in the night they became quite irritating because I didn’t know their exact locations so the bumps kept bumping up unexpectedly and annoyingly. This sounds contradictory, yes I know. Over to you people…
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