It is now a necessity for the government of Cameroon to restructure the activity of night journeys in the country following the Dschang Cliff accident.
The Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe, in a release Wednesday January 27, 2021 declared that the accident which occurred in the night of Tuesday breaking Wednesday has once again raised the issue of challenges surrounding night journeys in the country.
Many are those who believe that night journeys contribute immensely in fatal road accidents on some of our highways.
In 2011, a report from the Ministry of Transport indicated that night journeys contribute to up to 35% of road accidents in the country.
Consequently night trips in the country were banned by the then Minister of Transport, Bello Bouba Maigari.
Trips to and fro the North West region popularly known as “Bamenda by Night” were greatly affected.
The challenges then were that, some drivers drink heavily and easily sleep off at night while driving.
Most cars lighting systems and driver’s sight did not favour night journeys especially during unfavourable weather conditions like when it rains.
With the numerous bends and pot holes on the highway, it was accepted by many that night journeys are not just the best.
Some of these challenges it should be noted still exist till date.
Besides the challenges faced during night journeys, some people strongly believe that the importance of night journeys can not be over emphasized.
“Let’s take the trip to Bamenda from Yaounde, most transport agencies take off in the mornings and evenings only, imagine night journeys are banned, and during the day, you living in Yaounde are invited for an important meeting in Bamenda the next day, automatically you will miss it, not so?” a passenger wondered adding that;
“The issue is not the journey itself, but how it is structured and organised”.
The accident of Wednesday January 27, 2021 according to the Transport Minister, Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe, is a call to the powers that be to enforce reflection on the issue of night journeys.
From the release of Minister Ngale Bibehe, it is high time the activity is well organised, structured or in extreme cases suspended.
The Dschang Cliff Accident
Official sources indicate that a 70 seater transport bus belonging to “Menoua Voyage” and a Dyna truck transporting an inflammable liquid had a head-on collision around “la falaise de Dschang” by 3:00 am breaking Wednesday January 27.
29 passengers survived the shock and were rushed to the Dschang District Hospital where they are responding to treatment.
Unfortunately, and as a result of the inflammable liquid, the two cars caught fire resulting in the death of 53 of the passengers, most of whom can not be identified.
The Governor of the West region, AWA Fonka Augustine, was at the scene of the accident, few hours after it happened.
The exact cause of the accident would be known after investigations launched by competent authorities.
