Lagos State University School of Transport and Logistics has won a Volvo Educational and Research Foundation grant of SEK500,000 (Swedish Krona — approximately $50,000).

The grant enables it to contribute to policy guidelines on minimising road and water accidents in some African cities.

Samuel Odewunmi, team lead of the research and former dean of LASU School of Transport and Logistics, made this known in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday in Lagos.

The research topic is ‘Comparative Study of Water and Road Traffic Crashes in Selected Cities in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya’.

Mr Odewunmi said the research proposal was submitted to Volvo Education and Research Foundation (VREF) in June 2022 to obtain the number, pattern, causes, injuries and fatalities of road and water accidents in the cities of study.

“We examined the phenomena of travel accidents on the roads and waterways of three selected cities in West and East Africa. Study of road traffic crashes are extensive, but studies on accidents on waterways are rarer, while cities with water bodies have urban forms with peculiar safety and environmental challenges,” explained Mr Odewunmi. “Safety policies are well formulated and communicated to enlighten citizens.

He added, “But this is less so for water transportation, especially for the local boat and ferry operators mostly patronised by the urban poor. Hence accidents are common, with many of them unreported.”

Mr Odewunmi stated that their research objectives include a comparative analysis of the data among the cities and between the modes, noting that it “will also entail evaluation of the safety regulations, enforcement and enlightenment.”

(NAN)