Leaning lampposts are a constant reminder of what the city is currently facing in regards to the increase in traffic accidents. The apparent “Selamta” of these, lamppost may be something to joke about but they are a stark footnote to the enormity of the problem.
In a half day panel organized by Addis Continental Institute of Public Health (ACIPH) last month, which discussed the various traffic reports that were generated, Commander Aklilu Seife from the Federal Police, presented a paper which revealed that 85,842 traffic accidents have been recorded covering the period from 2004-2008. Over 2,800 people died while about 8,696 suffered permanent injuries, he added. The Commander indicated that the ratio of people dying in traffic accidents in Ethiopia is 80 out of 10,000 cars and compared it with that of Japan where only one individual dies out of 10,000 cars.
Another interesting factor that rises from the statistics which reveal 68% of accidents occurring in urban areas is that the cusp of these accidents apparently happen on newly constructed asphalt roads. Ironically the development of well lit, “properly” constructed roads has led to Ethiopian drivers committing more mistakes then they would have done on unlit, pot-holed roads, with 68% of these accidents happening on urban areas.
Behavioral problems by drivers, lack of efficiency, low level of driving experience, lack of awareness about security, lack of technical fitness of vehicles are a few of the reasons that are said to cause this criminally high rate of accidents, with predictions that in 2020 traffic accidents will become the third highest killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. It should then be a national priority for all concerned to address the problem.
Back to the leaning lampposts, the sheer number of them throughout the city is quite astonishing. Some of them lean from the feet while others from the waist. How those leaning from the waist get that way is a perplexing question indeed as it is quite evident that no car, truck or bus could reach as high as the bend in the lamppost. Thankfully, none have been spotted yet that lean from the neck. That would truly be cause for everyone’s concern as the unavoidable implication might be that Addis’ traffic accident problems had somehow gone airborne.
