By Zulaiha Danjuma, Kano
Road crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 5-29 globally. In Africa, road crashes increased by 17% World Health Organization (WHO).
In Nigeria, media reporting plays a key role in how the public understands this crisis. Yet a review of 20 online news reports on road safety in Kano between 2025 and 2026 found that 13 online headlines used the word “accident.”
FROM “ACCIDENT” TO CRASH: WHAT THE DATA SAYS
In 2004, WHO stopped using the term “accident” in road safety documentation. The preferred terms are “road traffic crash” and “road traffic injury.”
The distinction matters. “Accident” implies an event that is random and unavoidable. “Crash” or “collision” frames the event as predictable and preventable, with identifiable causes such as road design, vehicle safety, and enforcement.
Research shows that language influences public response. When an incident is described as an accident, the focus often shifts to individual behavior. When it is described as a crash, the questions expand to include infrastructure, policy, and systemic interventions
HOW CRASHES ARE CURRENTLY REPORTED IN KANO
The 20 reports reviewed primarily attributed causes to driver behavior in the first paragraph: overspeeding, heavy-duty truck driver error, and mixing passengers with goods in public transport vehicles.
Examples:
Few reports mentioned contributing factors such as road conditions, lighting, signage, or enforcement. Only one report included a statement from FRSC on road conditions. None referenced government policy or agency accountability.
Corridors like Zungeru Road in Fagge Local Government Area, Unguwar Kwari, Samegu and Gwazaye have documented hazards — previous crashes, abandoned construction materials, dust, and poor air quality — yet these environmental factors are rarely named in reports. These are the conditions that contribute to crashes.
This pattern matches what road safety experts warn against: framing crashes as personal moral failure instead of systemic issues.
Read Also: 5 die, 8 injured in Niger road crash – CLOCKWISE REPORTS
LESSONS FROM OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES
When the media blames the individual, the public demands punishment, not prevention.
If an “accident” happened because a truck rider was “reckless,” the solution is to arrest the truck riders. If a “crash” happens because a 6-lane road has multiple potholes, no pedestrian bridge and no streetlight and poor regulatory enforcement, the solution is infrastructure, enforcement, and urban planning.
While road deaths rose across Africa, some countries recorded declines through targeted interventions. According to WHO, Morocco, Rwanda and Cape Verde reduced fatalities by deploying automated radar networks, enforcing zero-tolerance laws for drunk driving, and mandating vehicle speed limiters alongside all five WHO risk-factor laws.
Despite these policy successes, media monitoring shows that mainstream outlets in these countries still frequently use the term “accident” and focus on individual driver blame, rather than highlighting infrastructural and enforcement gaps.
This shows that policy change can reduce deaths, but media framing is also needed to sustain public support for prevention.
FIVE GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING ROAD SAFETY STORIES
Based on the WHO Global Road Safety Reporting Initiative Framework and Media Guidelines for Reporting Road Collisions, newsrooms can strengthen road safety coverage by:
1. Using accurate terminology: Use “crash” or “collision” instead of “accident” in headlines and text.
2. Contextualizing the incident: Frame the lead to include road, vehicle, and environmental factors, not only human behavior.
3. Broadening sources: Include public health officials, urban planners, and road engineers alongside police and FRSC.
4. Adding location data: Provide historical risk data for the specific road corridor where the crash occurred.
5. Ending with solutions: Identify the agency responsible for the road and ask what preventive measures could be implemented. What would prevent this next time? A speed bump? A traffic light? Better emergency response?
As road deaths continue to rise in Africa, how we talk about them matters. Shifting from “accident” to “crash” is not about semantics. It is about shifting from blame to prevention.
For Nigeria to make progress on road safety, media reporting must reflect the full picture: the road, the policy, the enforcement, and the people
