The inDrive Safety Summit, held in Abuja, brought together key stakeholders in Nigeria's mobility sector to discuss ways to promote safe driving practices and improve the safety of drivers and riders. The summit, themed "Transparency," aimed to educate and engage stakeholders on safety and mobility, with the goal of developing practical solutions and achieving measurable results. inDrive, a global mobility and delivery services platform, emphasized the importance of collaboration in ensuring safe mobility.
According to Timothy Oladimeji, Country Manager of inDrive Nigeria, the ride-hailing platform was created to provide affordable and safe transportation services to riders. He noted that safe mobility requires the active participation of drivers, passengers, government agencies, and other stakeholders across the transportation ecosystem. Oladimeji highlighted inDrive's collaborations with government agencies to improve driver verification processes, strengthen response times with the Nigeria Police Force, and enhance driver onboarding in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Adimaldo Silva, Driver Marketing Lead for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, presented several safety features live on the inDrive platform to protect both riders and drivers. These features include liveness checks, order-feed moderation, dangerous-area alerts, and in-app chat moderation. Silva explained that dangerous-area alerts identify locations with higher safety risks, enabling drivers to remain more vigilant while operating in such areas.
Mrs. Jane Ojinta, Director at the Federal Ministry of Transportation, representing the Permanent Secretary, emphasized that road connectivity and safety are shared responsibilities that require the active participation of government, private-sector operators, drivers, passengers, and other stakeholders. Ojinta urged inDrive and other mobility operators to sustain investments in driver verification, vehicle safety, passenger protection, emergency response systems, and public awareness.
Assistant Corps Commander Laraba J. Shanwa of the FRSC Life Camp stated that the agency places significant emphasis on collaboration, especially in road safety management. Shanwa urged mobility service operators to consider collaborations in areas such as driver training and retraining, organized public awareness campaigns, data-informed interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, and improved safety standards for fleet operations.
Festus Achu, representing the Director of the Federal Capital Territory's Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), commended inDrive for organizing the summit to promote safety, security, and accountability in the e-hailing industry. Achu noted the need for stronger collaboration among government agencies, technology platforms, drivers, security agencies, and the public to improve road safety and security.
The summit featured panel sessions involving key stakeholders across Nigeria's transportation ecosystem. Stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to fostering an enabling environment for innovation and investment in the transportation sector while supporting initiatives that advance safer, more efficient, accessible, and sustainable mobility solutions for Nigerians. Key points from the summit include the need for improved collaboration, investments in driver verification and vehicle safety, and sustained public awareness campaigns.
Key points
- Improved collaboration among stakeholders is crucial to promoting safe driving practices and enhancing safety for drivers and riders.
- Investments in driver verification, vehicle safety, and emergency response systems are essential for ensuring safe mobility.
- Sustained public awareness campaigns can help address identified areas of concern and reduce road traffic crashes.
