How drivers can cope with boda boda riders

For a long time, motorists, especially taxi drivers, have often clashed with boda boda riders. Although, the latter are somewhat often error-prone, a good co-existence on the road is possible for both of them.

Call it a historical accident but I personally see no way the boda boda community is going away, even in the so called Central Business District. I often hear people demonstrate that bodabodas should be kicked out. Granted, they are a bit of a nuisance most of the time but, they serve their intended purpose quite well albeit unsafely.

Every time I have small talk while on one, I do preach the importance of a helmet and ultimately say that every rider should assume they are invisible to cars. But motorists need to change their perception of the trade and simply learn to live with them, that way we all shall have less stressful driving times. Here is some advice in that regard.

Size problems
Because of its small size, a boda boda can easily be hidden in a car’s blind spots, specifically the door or roof pillars or masked by objects or backgrounds outside a car like poles etc. Take an extra moment to look for boda bodas, whether you are changing lanes or turning at intersections.

Over half of all fatal boda boda crashes involve cars. Most of the time, a rider, not the driver, is at fault. The unfortunate universal assumption on the rider’s side is that the driver always sees him, whereas the fact is many times the riders are never seen.

I will just parrot what one boda boda rider told me or at least what he claims to always do, “Make yourself as noticeable as possible, and always assume that drivers don’t see you. I ride with my high beam on all the time, and always try to make eye contact with oncoming drivers. If I see that they are not paying attention, I always anticipate the worst move possible.”

Be extra cautious
While this is advice to fellow riders, you could retool it and always confirm the rider is aware of your existence before making whatever move you want. Because of its small size, a boda boda may look farther away than it is. It may also be difficult to judge its speed.

When checking traffic to turn at the lights or intersection, predict a boda boda is closer than it looks. Sometimes bodaboda riders often slow by downshifting or merely rolling off the accelerator, thus not activating the brake light. Allow more following distance, say three or five seconds.

Be on the alert
Always predict a rider may slow down without visual warning. It has been a while since I last saw a boda boda rider use an indicator. For those who do, sometimes, because the indicators are not self-cancelling, they forget to turn them off after a turn or lane change. Always make sure a boda boda’s signal is for real. As a matter of fact, manoeuvrability is one of a boda boda’s better characteristics, especially at slower speeds and with good road conditions, but don’t expect a motorcyclist to always be able to dodge out of the way. When heading straight on, there’s only so much they can do.

When a bodaboda is in motion, see more than the boda boda, see the rider and passenger, who could be your friend, neighbour, or relative.
If a driver crashes into a boda boda and causes fatal injury, the driver would likely never forgive himself or herself.

editoria@ug.nationmedia.com