Driving through some of Abuja’s busiest roads especially in the hot near skin peeling afternoon heat can be very frustrating and irritating. There are many reasons to feel this way besides the harsh weather - very annoying motorists who drive as if the road is meant for only them or the Cash carrying bullion vans that try to maneuver their way through the sea of cars waiting for the traffic lights or wardens to beckon on their end to move.

Traffic jams in Abuja happen for many reasons but these are the usual suspects in case you ever find yourself trapped in one and want to know whether to take an alternative route or wait out the traffic to flow.

Main Causes of Traffic Jams in Abuja
These are the usual suspects in case you are held up;

VIP Movement
Whenever the president, his vice or the first lady happen to be passing by, the security agents responsible for their safety won’t just offer them protection, they’ll ensure that you – the average Abuja motorist wait till the special VIP passes your route. So if you discover that vehicles are practically held up around the city gate, secretariat road or even within any of the major roads in Garki or Wuse, then there’s a good chance the president is passing by for a major engagement or is already within the vicinity. Hold your breath and be prepared to take a nap as well.

Road block/Check Point
Especially around major public holidays there is this heightened sense of vigilance by security agents as they mount check points at major roads to ‘sniff’ out potential Boko Haram terrorists who may want to forment trouble. Although since April 2012 Abuja hasn’t witnessed any terror attacks and one would wonder if the road blocks/check points are responsible for this.

Road Crashes/vehicle breakdown
When two or more cars are involved in road crashes, they’ll likely be injuries and damaged cars but also bottle necks if the road in question is narrow. Especially within Garki district around Area 10, 2 and 8, any major road crash could spell traffic jam. But also look out for heavy duty vehicles that breakdown on the highway, they often times take up a whole lane, sometimes even two.

Heavy downpour
When the heavens cry heavily, motorists thread softly on Abuja roads as visibility is often very poor and driving fast could be dangerous. The safe thing to do oftentimes is just drive with your parking lights blinking and at a slow speed which incidentally causes other motorists to slow down and lead to build up if the road is narrow or it happens to be rush hour.

Rush hour
For most Abuja commuters coming from outside the city into town e.g Kubwa-Suleja-Zuba axis or Nyanya-Maraba axis, rush hours 6 – 9 am and 6pm – 9pm always means hours moving in snail speed traffic. The mass of cars entering and leaving the city even with little street lights can mean a lot of time is spent moving in and out of the city in ‘go slow’.

If you ever get caught up in one of the Abuja traffic, look out most times it’s one of these suspects.