THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT (MDAs & SECURITY AGENCIES) ON ENFORCING COMPLIANCE ON THE ILLEGAL/UNSAFE PARKING OF VEHICLES INCLUDING ENFORCEMENT DIRECTIVES ON TRANSPORTATION OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SAFETY IN NIGERIA, THE AKWA IBOM EXPERIENCE.
I am @udoikotabasi, a staff of ministry of transport. This article is presented on basis of the Rush Hour ( the Christmas season)
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INTRODUCTION
★ Understanding the meaning of Occupational Health
★ Accident and causes in the work environment
★ Occupational Safety and Safety Principles
★ Safety Guides
★ What Constitution Illegal/Unsafe Parking
★ The Roles of Government play in reducing Road Transport Accident from Unsafe Parking
★ Laws that backup Enforcement in The State
★ Conclusion
MEANING OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH:
Occupational Health and Safety is required in every industry. Safety in transport should be of high importance to every single operator, as several parties can be at risk when an accident occurs. Transport safety refers to the measures taken to ensure the wellbeing of individuals and to prevent accident in the transport sector.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) Occupational Health is the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations, by preventing departures from health, controlling risks and adaptation of work to people and people to their jobs.
Occupational health is about the effect of work on health and the effect of health of work. Occupational health hazard include physical, chemical, mechanical etc.
It has the following benefits:
★ Increased productivity, through effective sickness absence management and wellbeing strategies
★ The rehabilitation and early return of staff to the workplace following prolonged periods of sickness absence/injury.
★ Reduced costs associated with sickness absence, litigation and insurance among host of others.
This article is only limited to the mechanical health hazard which includes manual handling, being hit by moving equipment etc. Over the years, research has shown that transport work environments have recorded a number of accidents. Accident simply is an unplanned or undesired event that can result in harm to people, property or the environment.
According to traffic Management Act 2004, a road traffic accident is defined as “an event in road traffic which occurs in direct connection with the movement of vehicle in which a person is killed or injured, or a road or a facility of general utility is rendered in operable”.
Arising from these definitions, it is an established fact that Road Transport Accidents are often caused by negligence or human mistakes.
The most common root causes of such accident may be due to the following:
★ Traffic accident due to failure to observe traffic signals and traffic regulations.
★ Traffic accidents due to insufficient security of transported materials.
★ Transport accident related to non-compliance with mandatory safety rules.
★ Accident caused by inadequate vehicle inspection.
★ Accident due to unsafe or illegal parking, which block obstruction.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY:
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PRINCIPLES
To ensure smooth operations in the transport sector, the following (6) principles form the basis of the safe system approach:
1. Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable
2. Human beings make mistake
3. Human are valuable
4. Responsibility is shared
5. Safety is proactive
6. Redundancy is crucial
SAFETY GUIDES:
Stay safe this season of Christmas and merry Christmas in advance. I hope to see you in 2025.