The Federal Road safety Corps FRSC, says it recorded over 27% decrease in the total number of road crashes that occurred during the just concluded 2021 Eid-El-Fitri across Nigeria.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, said the reduction was as a result of special patrol organised by the Corps to ensure free flow of traffic and safety of all travellers in the country.
He said “the Corps now has a wider coverage due to the establishment of more FRSC Commands, Outposts, road side clinics and Zebra points who now feed in reports from different routes that were hitherto not thoroughly covered”.
Oyeyemi also revealed that the comparison made with year 2019 period is due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 which halted conventional operations.
He also stated that the reduction both in crashes and number of offenders apprehended was an indication that the public enlightenment efforts of the Corps was yielding results and road users are complying accordingly.
Reduction of road crashes
The Corp Marshal stressed that the tempo in the operational and advocacy front would be sustained to ensure continuous decrease in number of road crashes, number of persons involved, as well as decrease in the number of persons killed by crashes on Nigerian roads.
“The Corps is advancing steadily towards the actualisation of its corporate mandate of creating a safer motoring environment and eradicating crashes on our roads. This tempo will surely be sustained as all efforts have been adequately put in place to make the roads safer for all”, he said.
He therefore called on Nigerians to assist the Corps by reporting any form of obstruction or emergency on the road to the spokesperson through the FRSC Toll Free numbers 122 or tune into the National Traffic Radio 107.1FM to report same or any other contravention seen on the road.
The Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem also stated that a total of 92 road traffic crashes were recorded in 2021 as against a total of 117 in the same period in 2019.
He also said that a total of 5,511 offenders were arrested for committing 6,858 offences between May 11 and 17, 2021 that the operation lasted.
Kazeem said that the decrease recorded in Road traffic crashes could also be attributed to several coordinated factors among which are the establishment of Station Offices in almost all the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
According to him, “intensified public enlightenment and sensitization campaigns held nationwide in collaboration with key stakeholders in the transportation sector and effective patrol operations also help in the decreased process”.
Analytical breakdown of the operation
The spokesperson revealed that in the same period in 2019, out of the 117 road traffic crashes that involved a total of 858 people in 2019, 54 people were killed in fatal accident as against 43 in 2021, representing 26% decrease in fatality.
He disclosed that a record of 260 people were rescued with injuries in 2021 against 343 in 2019 representing 32% decrease while on the other hand, 469 people were rescued without injuries in 2019, as against 266 in 2021 representing a decrease of 76%.
Nneka Ukachukwu
