Design of a Location-Based Emergency Response Application for Road Traffic Accidents in Lagos State

Nigeria records one of the highest rates of road traffic fatalities in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Lagos State accounting for a disproportionate share due to its high vehicular density and complex road network. This study presents the design of a location-based mobile application intended to accelerate emergency response to road traffic accidents in Lagos State. The research draws on documented response time data from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Road Safety Corps, which indicate that average emergency response times on Lagos expressways exceed 40 minutes. A requirement analysis was conducted through interviews with 15 emergency responders and a survey of 80 road users. The proposed application leverages GPS geolocation, push notification services, and integration with the Lagos State Emergency Operations Centre's database to enable bystanders to report accidents with precise coordinates, incident photographs, and victim count data. The application was prototyped using Flutter for cross-platform mobile deployment and tested in simulation scenarios across three accident-prone corridors. Evaluation results show that the prototype can transmit incident data to emergency dispatch within 12 seconds of activation. The study recommends partnership with the Lagos State Government and mobile network operators to ensure coverage in accident blackspot zones. Keywords: emergency response, location-based services, road traffic accidents, Lagos State, GPS technology.