Autocrashes are a major and growing public health problem in Nigeria, a motorizing African country. In order to assess its magnitude and discern trends, an overview is presented covering the period, 1970-1994. Whereas the petroleum price rises (1974 and 1979);​ the crash helmet legislation (1976);​ and the establishment of the Federal Road Safety Commission (1989) had positive impacts on road transportation and autocrashes, the downturn in the country's economy had severe negative effects. The consequences of these on the traffic milieu and autocrashes are examined with recommendations for improvement.