The Inconsiderate Road User -By Esther Pius Ekong

Some deaths are caused by disease, others by accidents and still others by the inconsiderate actions of fellow road users. Every road user has a right of way and obligations.

Her son suddenly slumped while riding his bicycle in the compound. With the help of her domestic staff, she hurried him to the car while the gateman opened the gate without delay. She drove out and headed for the fastest route to the nearest hospital, the one she had registered for emergencies.

A desperate mother’s prayer to save her only child was obstructed by a man-made misfortune, an unusual traffic jam. She got down immediately and ran to the scene, only to discover that the hold-up was caused by a collision between two private car owners whose egos were at their peak.

She pleaded with them and explained that her son was dying, but to no avail. She even offered to pay for the repairs of both cars and left her phone number and address as assurance. Instead of softening, the gesture aggravated them and they insulted her. At that point, other road users intervened and compelled them to clear the road. Shaking with her dangling breast of motherhood, she returned to her car and sped off.

The doctor and nurses were on standby as she drove into the emergency section. A few minutes later, the doctor delivered the news that shattered her forever: “Madam, you were six minutes late. Your son is gone”. It was then that she realised she had driven her son’s body, not a living child, into the emergency unit.

Recovering from the shock, she ran inside and held her son tightly, eyes raised to heaven, silently pleading for a miracle. The nurses, having given up hope on reviving him, tried to take the body from her grip and move it to the mortuary, but she would not let go. She screamed, cried and called his name repeatedly, and hoped he would answer the voice of his sorrowful and anxious mother, but it was a dead wish.

The above tragic scenario is not peculiar to that woman alone. Many people have lost opportunities, missed flights, court sittings and emergency appointments despite leaving home early because of avoidable disruptions on the road.

Do you owe other road users a duty of care? “Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas”, which simply means, “Use your rights so as not to injure those who may reasonably be affected by your conduct”.

The legal foundation for that duty is the “Neighbour Principle” articulated by Lord Atkin in DONOGHUE VS. STEVENSON (1932) AC 562, thus: ”You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour”.   Lord Atkin explained the word, “Neighbour” as: “Any person who is so closely and directly affected by your actions that you ought reasonably to have them in contemplation when acting”.

The foundation of this principle originated from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10: verses 25-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. According to the Good News Bible version, when a teacher of the Law asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”  Jesus answered through the parable and at the conclusion of the parable, Jesus asked him, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbour towards the man attacked by the robbers?”  He answered, “The one who was kind to him”. Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same”.

To the common man, a neighbour is simply the person who lives next door and is expected to show kindness. From the Biblical mandate and the case cited, neighbourliness goes beyond location, it is about how we treat others who may be affected by our actions.

Many families have lost loved ones to avoidable road accidents and traffic obstruction, while the perpetrators continue to drive around without penalties or sanctions, bearing the invisible burden of contributing to a preventable loss of life, which in most cases destroy a complete family. It is not just the pulling of a trigger, stabbing, strangling, poisoning or other conventional means that make one an offender. Ask yourself, has your driving made you an unofficial offender?

The road belongs to no one. It is a passage shared by everyone in pursuit of different destinations and different goals. You use it today and return to use it tomorrow. So, before you block the road or create a traffic jam, pause and think of the possible consequences. Your thoughtfulness might save a life.

The relevant agencies with the statutory duty of ensuring road safety should enforce appropriate sanctions and penalties on defaulters. There should be an end to unnecessary displays of ego, power, connection or celebration that obstruct roads to the detriment of other road users. When such conduct is allowed to continue, the law is reduced to a tool for committing an offence, which is unacceptable.

Emergency vehicles such as ambulance, fire service or any other vehicle conveying a person in distress approach, delaying such vehicle may unknowingly determine whether another person lives or dies. That is not a moment to struggle for the right of way or exhibit nonchalant behaviour.

The next time you are tempted to cause a roadblock, drive against traffic, engage in an argument after a collision, greet your friends, purchase something, make enquiries or create unnecessary congestion, kindly clear off the road as you remember that behind you may be a patient in critical condition or someone racing against time.

Every road user should make a solemn promise not to allow impatience, pride, anger or carelessness to become the reason another family mourns. If this promise can be kept, the roads will become safer, journeys shorter and humanity blessed.

Simply because you are injured does not mean your neighbour must become your unwilling victim or survivor. No, it should not and must not be so. Neminem laedere, meaning “live so as to injure no one”.  It all seems insignificant until you become the victim or survivor. The road is not a battlefield for pride or superiority; it is a shared pathway to accomplish the purpose of life.

The next life saved by courtesy on the road may be that of your loved one or even your own.

Esther Pius Ekong, a legal practitioner, can be reached via idangbenedicta@gmail.com