Urgent stops: Toilets can make Africa’s roads safer, says study
All this suggests that driving while pressed for the bathroom is as dangerous as drunk or fatigued driving. Toilets should be integrated within road developments and mobility systems.
African roads (AP)
Travelling on Africa’s roads comes with many challenges. The biggest is arriving at your destination safely. The continent is one of the hotspots of global road trauma. Its traffic deaths account for about one quarter of the global number of victims, despite having less than 4% of the world’s vehicle fleet.
The situation in sub-Saharan Africa is particularly dire. Road crashes affect this region more than any other. Its road fatality rate of 27 per 100,000 people is three times higher than Europe’s average of 9 and well above the global average of 18.
Despite rising investments in road development, the quality of roads in many African countries is generally low. This has been captured in research reports, the World Economic Forum’s surveys, and the International Monetary Fund’s road quality ranking.
Crashes and poor roads are not the only things that can make travelling difficult. Another is a lack of toilets. When planning roads and mobility, authorities rarely include access to adequate, safe, and clean toilets.
In 2020, a public interest lawyer, Adrian Kamotho Njenga, successfully sued authorities in Kenya, compelling them to provide toilets for travellers.
It is not a uniquely African problem. Similar challenges exist in the US and the UK. The difference is that in those places, researchers are building knowledge about the problem to support change.
Road traffic crash losses in Africa are immense. The African Union lamented that they drain an estimated 2% of member states’ GDP annually. Bringing the problem under control will require investing in a wide range of interventions, including unconventional ones – such as making it easy for drivers to “go” while on the road.
Driving while pressed for the bathroom can be a significant distraction. It could make drivers a danger to themselves and other road users by diverting their attention. The distraction can make the driver impatient and inclined to start speeding, tailgating, or trying reckless manoeuvres to reach the nearest place where they can ease themselves.
Research has shown that people who cannot urinate when their bladder is full experience cognitive or attention impairment equivalent to staying awake for 24 hours. The deterioration is also equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.05%. This equals or exceeds the limits that Tunisia (0.05%); Sudan and Mauritania (0%); Morocco (0.02%); Mali (0.03%), Madagascar (0.04%), and other African countries impose.
All this suggests that driving while pressed for the bathroom is as dangerous as drunk or fatigued driving. Toilets should be integrated within road developments and mobility systems.
Governments can build more public toilets. Africa is one of the key locations of global toilet poverty. The World Health Organisation says some 779 million people on the continent do not have reasonable access to adequate, safe, and clean toilets.
Most drivers operate in cities. Urban commuters are likely to use toilets in fuel stations, hotels, restaurants, banks, coffee shops, and other establishments. Not much is known about their cost, safety, or cleanliness. Researchers will have to investigate these issues and share the findings with the public.
When more people are aware, there could be a shift in thinking to demand better access to toilets as part of mobility policy.
The author is Senior Research Associate, University of Oxford
The Conversation
