Burkina Faso / Road safety: 1,303 accidents involving public transport vehicles between 2019 and 2024

This road brings grief to many families every day. However, some road accidents can be avoided if users obey the highway regulations and show tolerance. Public transport is an important part of the transport sector and its contribution to improving road safety cannot be ignored. Faced with the sad observation of a large number of accidents involving public transport, the Ministry of Transport believes it is useful to draw their attention to the statistics on accidents and the recorded casualties.

Thus, according to the presentation of Didier Bazongo, battalion commander of the fire brigade, a total of 1,303 public transport accidents were recorded between 2019 and the first quarter of 2024, with 901 injuries and 324 deaths. When we look more closely, we see that about 30 small transport companies without their own name (still called “Dina”) top the list with 889 accidents, 356 injuries and 136 deaths. They are followed by STAF (136 accidents, 191 injuries and 57 deaths recorded in five years) and TSR (105 accidents, 164 injuries and 61 deaths).

Other companies such as SOTRACO, Rakieta, Rahimo, SBTA, Saramaya and others have also recorded equally serious accidents and fatalities. Faced with the high number of accidents observed in the first quarter of 2024 alone, Battalion Commander Didier Bazongo expressed his fear that the number of accidents in 2024 will hit a record high. The report states that the main causes of accidents are non-compliance with speed limits, fatigue or drunk driving, and mechanical failure.

The Director General of the National Road Safety Office (ONASER), Commissioner of Police Edmond Zongo, has reviewed the regulations for the transport of people. He recalled the importance for transporters to respect the texts and laws governing their activities and strictly abide by the highway regulations and speed limits in built-up and non-built-up areas.

After the various presentations, stakeholders in the transport sector were able to discuss freely with Minister Roland Somda and raise their concerns. The minister said that this framework discussed with operators is important because some operators said they were not aware of the texts that govern their activities. He said that these exchanges allow the popularization of these texts so that they remain in people’s minds and are used to eliminate road insecurity on major roads. Roland Somda added that permanent checks will be carried out in the coming days, especially in terms of speed limits.

In turn, the hauliers have welcomed the convening of such a meeting, which will not only enlighten them but also allow them to plead for the improvement of some of their conditions. They particularly invite the government to take measures to put an end to the anarchic occupation of roads by companies. Regarding the issue of medicine boxes, the hauliers have requested time to update themselves and provide training courses for drivers on the use of medicine boxes.

The Minister of Transport suggested giving them this deadline and will bring it to their attention through a press release. “Compliance with speed limits and highway regulations remains an immediate and systematic application. We will not wait until too many people die due to speeding to stop these checks. I call on the entire transport community to strictly adhere to these rules in this area and to use the published texts to regulate the transport community,” recalled Roland Somda.

Yacouba Barro, president of the Single Umbrella Organization of Transporters of Burkina Faso, invited the ministry to focus on raising awareness among all road users so that everyone is careful and behaves responsibly.

Amel Ouedraogo

Lefaso.com