Some time ago, I got into a discussion with someone about the most dangerous means of transportation, and I was able to make him understand that road trips are still the safest, even though they have their challenges, just like other means of transportation. I haven't travelled by air before, but we have heard stories about how terrible things get when there is a mechanical fault while the aeroplane is in the air.
Travelling by water is cool, and I have tried it a few times. Although I didn't encounter any serious issues through the trips, I was scared because if the unexpected happened, we would all be stuck in the water.
I rank road trips as the safest because there are always options if things don't get messy unexpectedly. When a vehicle develops a fault, it's as simple as just pulling over, but it's not the same with other means of transportation.
As safe as road trips are for me, I have had so many ugly experiences in Lagos, and this is one of the reasons why I haven't travelled outside my state in a while now. This minute, you are enjoying the trip, and the next minute, it's something else.
The majority of the problems we face on the road are caused by public bus drivers; those guys only care about how much they make daily. They barely maintain their buses, and when they develop faults all of a sudden, they still want to gain from them. Luckily, some escape death, but many people have met their end because of these crazy drivers.
A few weeks before Christmas, I was going to help my mom pick something up at Eko Idumota, and immediately I got onto the bus. I became worried because of the bus condition. I didn't have any option other than the bus, and I just had to pray for mercy on the journey.
There were no side mirrors, and to cut a long story short, the driver told me to help him with the brakes when he stepped out to buy fuel at the gas station.
I didn't believe my ears, and throughout the trip, I didn't stop praying.
Surprisingly, we drove past Road Safety, but this driver did the needful and didn't have to answer any questions from anyone. Just because these buses are still moving, they don't bother fixing them and automatically put people's lives in danger. If I wasn't sitting by the driver's side, I wouldn't have known whatever was happening in the driver's seat.
Aside from the issue of faulty vehicles, traffic in Lagos can make you sick. I have been in a stand still traffic in Lagos for seven straight hours and wished I trekked instead of just sitting hoping the road would be free.
My craziest road experience happened over a decade ago, and it tops my list because I saw death in a flash. It happened that a neighbour was getting married somewhere in Abeokuta. We had the option of going by road or water, so we chose to go by water since it would be faster and cheaper.
We hired a bus that took us to the riverbank, and upon getting there, something terrible happened. There was heavy rainfall the night before the wedding, and the roads were slippery.
There was a turning that led to the river bank; it was slippery and sloppy. The driver hesitated to get on the sloppy road, but we had different sizes of coolers with us, and it would be difficult to carry them from the place he wanted to drop us off to the river bank.
After much persuasion, he agreed to take us there, and he immediately got on the road. He lost control of the vehicle. The bus was running down the sloppy road, and every effort to stop it was futile. The bus became a prayer city, and while it all happened, I couldn't think of anything.
The driver tried colliding with an iron pole to halt the vehicle, but the pole broke instead. Finally, there was a plantation before the driver, so the driver managed to run into the farm. The bus knocked down lots of plantain trees before it stopped, and immediately, people gathered to help us out of the bus.
I was shivering and didn't believe my eyes. I went back to the road to see where the vehicle lost control to the point where it stopped, and it was only God who kept us alive.
I won't forget the story because it was Sunday and I was supposed to be in church, but I chose the party instead. Since that day, I don't feel eager to travel for events because it's just not worth losing one's life because of a party. If it's very important, I wouldn't have a choice but to go, and if it's not, there is no point in going.
After that experience, I haven't experience such and don't pray for such again because I might not be lucky twice.
All The Image In The Post Was Captured By Me.