How long can you drive a car continuously in Nigeria?
One of the major causes of accidents on Nigerian roads is Drowsy Driving. The risk, danger, and often tragic results of drowsy driving are alarming and this could be as a result of driving for long hours non-stop.
Drowsy driving can best be described as the risky combination of driving and sleepiness or exhaustion. It can also occur when a driver has not gotten enough sleep, untreated sleep problems, drugs, alcohol consumption, or shift employment.
In this article, we would be talking about the solution to one of the problems of drowsy driving which I mentioned earlier as “driving for long hours non-stop.”
Driving safely should be your number one concern behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, many Nigerians do not take this seriously that’s why the Nigerian government instituted a law guiding drivers on How long they should drive a car continuously.
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A security analyst and law enforcement agent on Twitter, Aliyu Giwa has provided us with everything we need to know about the law guiding drivers on How long to drive a car in Nigeria.
Below is what our security analyst and law enforcement agent has to say;
“As a driver, do you know that you can only drive for a continuous period of 5 hours and have 8 consecutive hours of rest in any period of 24 hours calculated from the commencement of any period of driving?”
“Sec 170 of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 says:
1- No person shall drive, cause or permit any person employed by him/her to drive any vehicle-
A. subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (2) of this regulation, for any continuous period of more than five hours;
B. For periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 10 or ten and half hours in any period of 24hours commencing 2hours after midnight, except that where it is necessary for a driver to conclude a long distance journey the period may be extended to twelve and half hours in all
; or
C. where the driver has not had at least eight consecutive hours of rest in any period of twenty four hours calculated from the commencement of any period of driving.
2- Where the duration of a journey exceeds five hours the driver shall have intervals of rest not less than thirty minutes in every three hours of the said journey.
For the purposes of this regulation-
A. any two or more periods of driving time shall be deemed to be a continuous period unless separated by interval of not less than thirty minutes for the purpose of enabling the driver to obtain rest and refreshment; and
B. any time spent by a driver on other work in connection with the vehicle or load carried thereby shall be reckoned as time spent in driving.
3- Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000:00 or to a term of 9 months imprisonment or to both.”
