The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) recently raised the alarm over growing road accidents across the country and called for a holistic safe system approach to halve road traffic deaths by 2030. The Deputy Corps Marshal on Policy, Research and Statistics, Clement Oladele, during a press briefing in Abuja, disclosed that 3,767 people died while 22,373 others were injured between January and September 2024 due to road crashes. Oladele also revealed that the global plan of action for the United Nations Decade of Road Safety 2021 to 2030 is to reduce road traffic deaths by half by 2030.
The FRSC is planning to purchase choppers for patrol operations through private public partnership as well as the purchase of air ambulances and drones to aid the patrol duties of FRSC officials. In addition, the corps has embarked on the training of all relevant officers at all levels to boost its preparedness for the ember months’ operation.
While the corps recognized that speeding was the major cause of road accidents in the country, the FRSC officials are working to ensure that the ember months are accident free. According to FRSC, road traffic crash is the seventh cause of death for human lives globally and number one cause of death of youths in Africa.
Interestingly, the Rivers State Command of the FRSC has urged passengers to always speak up against dangerous driving to save lives during and after the Yuletide. Inyang Umoh gave the charge at a press briefing in Port Harcourt to launch the 2024 “ember months” safety campaign against reckless driving with the apt theme, “Speak Up Against Dangerous Driving: Crashes Kill More Passengers than Drivers.”
We lament the growing road crashes and urge the FRSC to intensify safety campaigns as we approach the Christmas season. It is sad that Nigeria loses many lives every year on account of road accidents. Unfortunately, the road crashes have left many Nigerians injured and several others permanently incapacitated. The FRSC should also find out why Nigeria records more road crashes during the ember months, especially September to December. The campaigns should be taken to the major motor parks in all the states in the federation. Road safety should be the duty of all Nigerians.
The FRSC officials cannot do it alone. Traditional institutions, religious bodies, transport unions, community associations, schools and some civil society organizations should join the campaign to rid our highways of road crashes. Since the passengers are the major victims of road crashes, they should be willing to caution and even reprimand erring drivers. No doubt, most road crashes are caused by human error, especially the recklessness of drivers. On the other hand, the drivers should be sensitized too on the dangers of reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. It has now become glaring that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) should be part of the campaign on road safety considering that some drivers drink alcohol and take other drugs while at the wheel. Drivers must be educated on the dangers of drug abuse, including drunkenness. The FRSC must begin to check drivers for alcohol and over-speeding, the major cause of road accidents. They used to do it in the past.
Besides the recklessness of drivers, bad roads could equally lead to many road crashes. Nigeria has many bad roads that pose dangers to road users. As part of measures to ensure road safety in the country, the government should fix all the dilapidated roads with deep craters across the country. Most federal roads are in bad condition. The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, should hasten to fix all federal roads in the six geo-political zones forthwith.
We urge the drivers to observe speed limits and avoid taking alcohol and other drugs while driving. The recklessness of truck drivers must be checked too. Long distance drivers should be sensitized on the need for safe driving and obeying traffic rules. Let FRSC warn its officials from demanding bribes from erring drivers. Their ineptitude can also lead to road accidents. There is need for continuous training and retraining of FRSC officials to be abreast of modern methods of road safety in line with global best practices. Since ensuring road safety is the duty of all citizens, all hands must be on deck to make Nigerian roads safe.