Between January and December this year, 9,483 crashes were recorded, resulting in 4,427 deaths, the federal road safety unit said on Monday.
Acting FRSC Corps Marshall Dauda Biu revealed this to a news reporter in Abuja.
That’s an 8 percent decrease from last year’s 10,304 crashes and 4,800 fatalities, he said.
Part of the Corps’ overall strategy, he said, is to deploy patrols along major corridors and congestion-prone areas to ensure its personnel are seen every 10km on both sides of the road.
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The areas he listed include the Lagos-Ibadan highway, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, Nya-Malabar-Kafi-Akuanga Road and Lugbe-Giri – Gwagwallada – Abaji – Lokoja Road.
Basic goals of the special patrol operation, which began on Dec. 15 and will end on Jan. 15, 2023, include easing traffic on highways, enforcing traffic laws and reducing crashes, casualties, and fatalities, he said.
As part of the patrol’s logistics, the Corps deployed 743 patrol cars, 184 administrative vehicles, 132 ambulances, 23 tow trucks and 144 motorcycles, he said.
He added that the Legion will take strict measures against public transport drivers who drive at night and violate traffic rules.
Ogbogo Aloga, executive secretary of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), called the casualty figures released by the FRSC appalling and blamed poor road conditions for the road accident rate.
In a conversation with the Daily Trust, Aloga urged the federal government to focus on road transport by “establishing a special intervention fund for players in the industry to support fleet renewal and vehicle maintenance”.
He said it was unheard of before for all forms of intervention by industrial banks, agricultural banks and other sectors of the economy, nothing in the transport sector.
“In the road transport sub-sector, there is no unified regulatory body. Road transport is a one-size-fits-all business and it shouldn’t be. There has to be some form of regulation.
“There should be some form of intervention in the road transport sector to address the re-traveling problem. The government should give up these roads. When you give in, people will pay and then use it to maintain the roads,” he said.
In a chat with our reporter, automotive and transport expert Dr Oscar Odibo said that road users and motorists must also change their attitudes to the road, adding that when all stakeholders play their part, “the traffic accident.”
By Maureen Onochie (Abuja) and Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos)
