The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Thursday expressed optimism that by 2030, there would be zero deaths resulting from road crashes in Nigeria.
Corps Marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, made this known in Makurdi during his presentation as a guest speaker at the maiden stakeholders town hall meeting on the theme: “Stakeholders Engagement: A Critical Component for Safer Lives.”
Mohammed, who was represented by the Assistant Corps Marshal, Zonal Commanding Officer, Yusuf Haruna Mcilt, stressed that 90 percent of road crashes happened due to human factors with the remaining 10 percent attributed to mechanical fault or other errors, identifying overspeeding as the leading cause of fatal crashes.
He said, “It’s our hope that by 2030, even though road crashes happen, there would be zero deaths. We will continue to educate our people that speed causes death. Any accident that happens and there is death, speed is involved.
“When a driver travels between 20 to 50 kilometers per hour, even if they hit something, it might only damage the brake light or gasket, but the passengers are unlikely to be harmed.
“However, driving at speeds exceeding 80 to 100 kilometers per hour can lead to serious consequences, and it’s the impact from these speeds that often causes fatalities. So, in any crash where someone dies, speeding is almost always the cause.”
The corps marshal stressed the need for people to adhere to road safety rules to avert tragedies, citing Tuesday’s Jigawa tanker accident where no lives were lost until explosion erupted when people began to scoop fuel.
Mohammed said the FRSC would continue to advocate that people stay 200 metres away from fallen tanker, especially when such vehicles were loaded.
The Sector Commander of the FRSC, Benue State Command, Steve Ayodele, said the corps, this year, changed its strategies to include town hall meeting in order to achieve better results by creating awareness and sharing ideas to mitigate projected challenges.
“The meeting is the first of its kind to mark the end of the year grand patrol operation with series of activities such as public education campaign, free vehicle checks, traffic count, mobile court sittings and enforcement activities,” Ayodele said.
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