Delivery vans, originally meant to transport goods are bring converted to passenger cars, and "gele-geles", stripped of their factory-installed seats, are being dangerously modified to fill in more passengers than they were ever designed to carry. It’s a practice so common that many don’t think twice about it, but each ride could be a potential for serious injury or even death..
Delivery vans disguised as passenger vehicles
Take a closer look at those passenger vans on the road. If you have been observant, you will realise that for many of them, at the time of their importation, they are with just two front seats, and no windows at the back sides. That indicates that they are designed purely for goods. But when they arrive in Gambia, owners weld in them metal bench seats covered with cheap foams and transform them into passenger carrying vehicles. That is why in many of them, the front seats are different from the back seats. These makeshift seats are anything but safe—they’re uncomfortable, poorly secured, and completely lack basic safety features and proper support. Passengers are crammed together, with very little room to move. Imagine what happens when the driver brakes suddenly or, worse, gets involved in a road crash. People get tossed around like rag dolls, with nothing to protect them from injury. The seats alone are enough to cause serious injuries because of their poor makeshift nature.
In fact this article was inspired by my recent encounter with an old friend who sustained a serious head injury when he boarded a 10 passenger mini van while travelling from tippa garage to Banjul and the vehicle was hit on rear side by another car. He sustained a deep cut on the side of his head which according to him was due to the "high force" with which his head hit the side of the rusted metal window frame of the van. Certainly, the severity of his injury could have lessened, had that mini van been a standard passenger vehicle instead of a modified delivery van.
The Gele-Gele trap
It doesn’t stop with delivery vans."Gele geles" are another cause for concern. Many drivers of "gele geles" remove those original factory installed cozy and cushioned seats and replace them with welded metal benches to squeeze in more passengers. The result? Less comfort and even less safety. These rigid metal seats offer zero protection in an accident, and the overcrowded conditions make it almost impossible to escape quickly if something goes wrong.
The dangers
- Structural and Crash Safety Risks
Delivery vans are designed to transport goods, not passengers. When seats are added without reinforcing the structure, the vehicle may not withstand crashes as well as a factory-built passenger vehicle.
Many of these vans also lack side-impact protection, making accidents more severe for passengers. Because the welded seats are often poorly installed, it’s not uncommon for them to collapse or detach during sudden stops. Combine that with the series of reckless driving on our roads, and the risk of serious accidents skyrockets.
- Emergency hazards: In an accident, those hard metal interior sturn in to deadly weapons, causing severe injuries.
- Passenger overloading: Since many of these vans are not designed for passenger transport, operators often fill in as many people as possible, increasing accident risks. Also, the van’s weight distribution may be unstable after conversion, leading to a higher risk of rollovers, especially on bad roads or sharp turns.
Why this keeps happening
The truth is, Gambians don’t have much of a choice. There’s no formal, affordable, or reliable public transport system in urban areas. The Gambia Transport Service Corporation (GTSC) focuses mostly on long-distance routes and school buses, leaving city commuters to fend for themselves. In this vacuum, informal operators thrive, cutting corners to make money while putting lives at risk.
What can be done
This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s time for the government to step up.
It's also important to note that this practice is not just peculiar to Gambia alone. The problem exists in many African countries. Hence it's not a surprise that Africa has the highest rate of traffic crashes.
The following measures can surely mitigate the problem:
Introduce a Standard for Vehicle Conversion: Since it will be very costly suddenly put a ban on vehicles already on the highway, transport authorities should set a standard that vehicles should meet, focusing on seat installation, emergency exits, and weight distribution. Vehicle owners can then be given grace periods to fix their vehicles while strictly enforcing that of newly licensed ones.
Mandatory Inspections: This is rarely done in this country, even for basic vehicle safety requirements. There should be regular safety inspections for all commercial passenger vehicles, especially converted ones, to ensure they meet basic roadworthiness standards.
Ban Dangerous Modifications: Enforce strict regulations to prevent unsafe modifications of "gele-geles" and vans. This can be very challenging if done abruptly. Therefore, it's important to implement such on newly licensed vehicles.
Educate the Public: People need to understand the risks of using these unsafe vehicles. Awareness campaigns can help commuters make informed choices.
Every day this continues, more lives are at risk. We can’t afford to wait until the next tragedy to act. Gambia’s roads shouldn’t be death traps—and it’s time we demand better.
These activities will not only save lives but will also scale down the hundreds of serious injuries that are recorded yearly on our roads
Momodou Lamin Jatta is the chairperson, Road Safety Foundation- The Gambia
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