Why 122 Toll-Free Matters

Did you read my write-up on the tragedy that befell the lady, who according to a post by my friend, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, was killed by a BRT bus driver in Lagos? The piece was captioned, ’How much is your life worth’. If you haven’t, I appeal to you to read it. One of the critical issues I raised in that piece was the level of ignorance on the toll- free numbers as well as the reluctance to call the same in the event of an emergency.

While you are pondering on whether to read or not, please allow me the honor to first pen a brief letter to my editor who I must confess, has been doing a yeoman’s job, editing my column and dealing with my inadequacies such as late turn-in of my weekly materials.

Dear Editor, I am writing to express my profound gratitude to you and your team for editing my column and dealing with my tardiness, sometimes in meeting the deadline for submission of my material. I acknowledge your patience and tact, and pray that God would grant you the Grace to exercise more restraint in dealing with me.

Meanwhile, I wish to also, use this platform to most respectfully ask you as a conscripted road safety editor, if you have saved on your phone, the toll-free emergency number, not just of the Federal Road Safety Corps but also of Lagos State where you do your business.

While I await your response through bantering as my pal, I urge you to please save these emergency numbers like they do in developed climes, if you don’t have them already, while also ensuring that all your colleagues do the same. Please, appeal to your loved ones, and your distractors, if you have any, to do the same. Thank you, editor

Today, I have chosen to focus on this vital topic for three reasons. The first is due to the outcome of the BRT bus tragedy, which by my observation did not show attempts made by either the driver or commuters to contact the emergency agencies in Lagos State such as the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)or the Federal Road Safety Corps. The second is due to what transpired between my friend who is a Special Marshal and a retired security operative, and my humble self during a recent crash in Abuja which he witnessed. Rather than call the toll-free emergency number, my friend who, as I said is a Special Marshal, turned me over to a call Centre, requesting me to inform the nearest Command, instead of calling the toll- free number. The third reason is on hold

For the records, toll-free emergency numbers are specialized and restricted numbers provided for members of the public, not just road users to contact emergency services through the relevant Agencies for prompt response. It is free in Nigeria and any other part of the world.

In a society such as ours where the government is battered daily for failure to provide efficient and effective governance, these facilities serve as a direct communication link between citizens and emergency agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps, National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA).

Others include, LASEMA, the Police, Fire Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and soon, the various State Police when they eventually take off, and other medical and disaster management authorities. These emergency toll-free numbers play critical roles in modern governance and security management architecture in protecting lives and property as well as responding to crises in addition to maintaining public order.

These numbers are nationally designated at no cost or charge in emergencies. They are also designed to ensure access to a caller with no credit balance. Critics who are deficient in seeing the positives of government despite genuine criticisms, would highlight network failure to rubbish the value of a toll-free number in our climate.

Despite the accepted challenge of network failure sometimes, in Nigeria and other climes, toll-free emergency numbers speed up prompt response in the case of a road crash or any other emergencies. The existence of a toll-free number for prompt post-crash response by the Federal Road Safety Corps was singled out by the World Health Organization as one of the strengths of the Corps as a Lead Agency.

In emergencies, the golden hour is the first hour after a traumatic injury, when emergency treatment is most likely to be successful. During such hours that could have resulted from emergencies such as road traffic crashes, fire, crimes, medical crises, or natural disasters, the most precious and critical ingredient is time.

The effectiveness or efficiency of the responders to save lives is a function of how quickly information is passed on to them with specifics. This perhaps explains why as a model, governments the world over provide simple three and memorable numbers such as the FRSC number for this purpose.

Meanwhile, in a world where emergency governance is no longer a one-man show, toll-free numbers provide the plank for collaboration, synergy, and coordination among agencies especially where integrated emergencies exist; there, calls are received, assessed, and routed to appropriate agencies to speed efficiency and reduce duplication of efforts.

Before I continue, let me emphasize the point I made about being specific when calls are made, using a road crash scenario for this purpose. When you dial the Federal Road Safety Corps 122 toll-free number or the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency 767 or 112 toll-free number, the job of the operator as well as the first responders are simplified when briefly the specific details or nature of the incident such as the crash type, vehicle(s) involved, route, time of the incident, if known, among others are provided as they help the responders to move with the needed apparatus instead guess-working.

I wish I could bore you with details of the history behind toll-free emergency numbers. However, since I do not know the kind of battering I will receive from my editor because of that love letter, I will stay focused on my piece by first sharing my experience when I was Sector Commander in Lagos under the leadership of Governor Raji Babatunde Fashola.

The period coincided with when one of the big players in the Communication sector, MTN, rolled out the midnight free calls to its subscribers. Within that period, I deliberately utilized the various platforms provided by the radio stations in Lagos State to promote the 122 toll-free number which was an upgrade from the earlier 0700-CALL-FRSC (0700-2255-3772), which is still active.

Because this was what we call; awoof-free in Nigeria, I suffered firsthand several abuses. Daily, listeners who heard the announcement on FRSC toll-free, would wait until midnight only to call the same number, to inquire about the driver’s license procedure. Others would dial and feign ignorance of the number, by requesting to know the owner.

Despite these ‘comic’ relief to a novel idea, we today boast of several toll-free numbers connecting citizens with rescue and security agencies. Although I do not have empirical facts on the extent of usage, I can say, confidently that the average road user has yet to domesticate its usage for emergencies. Most still rely on the analogue style of waiting until they sight a patrol team, command, or communicate the same to other drivers hoping to reach responders early. This development has handicapped the speed of post-crash response and efficiency in saving lives.

Notwithstanding, my experience in Lagos fits into similar challenges even in developed climes, one of which is a high level of prank or non-emergency calls, which often either overwhelm call centers or distract them from the real emergencies. Secondly, in a climate such as ours, the adequacy or lack of infrastructure especially in rural areas with unreliable networks hampers its effectiveness as network coverage is a key driver of its value. High among these constraints is funding which is the foundational driver in maintenance, training, and deployment of high-capacity technology among others.

Meanwhile, several reasons are adduced for poor usage. The first is driven by low awareness as the target population is often not aware of its existence while for some it is a lack of trust; first in its reliability and the promptness of the security agencies or first responders. Some fear their details being used for telemarketing or even a scam.

Others prefer the use of their traditional methods such as personal contacts instead of toll-free numbers. There are others that I hope will form the focus of another discussion. For now, I believe the FRSC should sustain displaying these numbers not just on patrol vehicles, ambulances, commands but also on strategic routes, motor parks, commercial vehicles, in schools, religious houses, markets, broadcast/print media, and hospitals among others