By Akinmola David
The Acting Corps Marshal, of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Deputy Corps Marshal Dauda Biu, has said not less than 412 people were killed in reported cases of road traffic crashes in Lagos from January to October 2022.
Biu, represented by the Lagos Corps Commander, FRSC, Olusegun Ogungbemide, gave the figure in Lagos.
He gave it at a program on the 2022 World Day Remembrance For Road Victims, themed:” Justice”, with the Slogan “Remember, Support, Act”.
Biu said that 412 people had been killed and 522 seriously injured in 520 reported cases of road traffic crashes recorded in Lagos State in the 10 months.
He said that investigations in Lagos revealed inappropriate speeding, equipment failures, loss of control, fatigue, and aggressive driving as the leading proximate causal elements in the majority of the crashes.
”It is apposite to say that Lagos-Ibadan and Lekki-Epe-Ijebu-Ode Expressway recorded the highest fatalities during the period with unfortunate revelations that these crashes occurred along the good stretches of the road and at night,” Biu said.
He said that attitudinal change was important in the search for improved, safer roads.
The Acting Corps Marshal said that there was a need to cooperate on institutional levels towards the epidemic called Road Traffic Crash.
He said that self-accountability and responsibility while on the road should take a better place in every road user.
Biu said that on Aug.17, 1896, the world recorded the first motor collision fatality in Crystal Palace, London.
He said that according to the United Nations (2020), approximately 135 million people’s lives were cut short as a result of road traffic crashes every year.
He said that between 20-50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring permanent disabilities.
Biu commended the efforts of all the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), community leaders, and government organisations who had been working tirelessly with the corps to see the mission accomplished.
The Acting Corps Marshal pledged the FRSC’s commitment to the goal of creating safer motoring environment in the country.
He sought continuous support of Nigerians, describing achievement of road safety as a shared responsibility.
