One of the major problems in some cities which have made lives difficult for some people in one way or the other is TRAFFIC JAM. Let's take a case study of Lagos state Nigeria where I reside. This state has a very large population and is as if almost every family owns a private car. This leads to an increase in vehicles on the road 🛣️ daily and therefore causes traffic congestion most times.
I wouldn't dispute the fact that the government provided public transportation but it's not enough to attend to the population in the state besides, most people prefer to drive their cars rather than take public transportation and suffer heat coupled with poor ventilation in many of the public transportation that is available.
Many people have no option but to deal with the traffic problem every day in their life as far as they still want to maintain their jobs. From my experience so far, this traffic problem has led to some negativities in the state such as:
- Psychological effects on the lives of people
- wastage of fuel
- time wastage
- stress and frustration
- low productivity due to delays on important work etc.
One faithful day, my son suddenly was attacked by Seizure (convulsion). The whole condition took me unaware because he wasn't running temperature or having any single symptoms of illness. I tried all first aid measures immediately but the situation rather worsened. My son was convulsing so badly 😭😭, that his body was reacting as if he is electrocuted ⚡, his eyes and balls were twisting, saliva was gushing out from his mouth, his speech was seized, and finally, he lost consciousness 🥲🥲. The whole thing happened so fast like within 10 minutes. I never saw it coming, I was frustrated 🥴, it was as if my world was coming to an end! My husband was far away in his working place, I placed a call across to him immediately and he quickly ordered a ride online. The Uber driver gets my house so fast and we rushed to the hospital 🏥🏥.
Lo and behold, the traffic jam was so horrible on the road 😭😭. Like, it wasn't moving an inch. I looked at my son and cried, I cried and prayed that God should spare his life for me. I get down from the car and was begging everyone to clear the road for us that my son is dying. Some drivers did while others didn't care, what a world. There was no motorbike anymore in the state, and there was no alternative route, in fact, my brain 🧠 was almost formatted and I couldn't think right to come up with another alternative. Meanwhile, my son was still convulsing several times making him too weak and stressing his brain at the same time. To cut the STORY short, some road safety officers appeared from nowhere and I rushed to table my case to them, quickly, they made a way for us and followed us till we reach the pediatric hospital. The Uber driver quickly carried my son out of his car to the emergency room leaving his car wide open, his ignition on, his cash, and the rest...what a man that has compassion. He cared less about his properties seeing how bad my son's condition was, God, bless the stranger.
On reaching the emergency room, the doctors on duty examined him and was blaming me several times for not rushing the boy to the hospital on time, he said it's not good for anyone to be under seizure attack for a long time because it can lead to body part paralysis or even brain 🧠 damage. Well, it was never my fault but that of LAGOS STATE TRAFFIC JAM.
My son and I
Glad my son is fine now but this is the worst experience I have had so far about traffic jams and I wish not to encounter such again over health issues.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest week 27 edition 2 topic titled TRAFFIC TROUBLES.
THANKS FOR READING!!!
PLEASE NOTE, THE SECOND IMAGE IS MINE