Agency says over-speeding killed thousands in road accidents in 2-yrs

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says more than 11, 436 persons died as a result of road accident in Nigeria between 2014 and 2015.

Dr Kayode Olagunju, Assistant Corps Marshal and Head of Policy, Research and Statistics, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), disclosed this on Saturday in Calabar.

The Corps Marshal stated this while speaking at an interactive session with transport unions on seamless implementation and enforcement of speed limiting devices come Oct.1.

According to him, 68.7 per cent of the road crashes are caused by speed in spite of the awareness campaign being carried out by the corps.

He said that 60 per cent of the road crashes involved commercial vehicles, adding that the enforcement of the “speed limiting devices’’ would reduce road accidents.

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“Speeding is a major issue when it comes to crashes in Nigeria roads. Some drivers still indulge in speeding.

“Excess speed accounted for 26.5 per cent as against loss of control 22.9 per cent, dangerous driving 9.4 per cent, all these are grouped under speeding and they accounted for 68.7 per cent of crashes.

“It is believed that if we successfully install the speed limiting devices in commercial vehicles for now, we would reduce the crashes because about 60 per cent of the crashes involved commercial vehicles.

“We would start with commercial vehicles first on Oct. 1’’, he added.

Olagunju, who responded to questions and listened to contributions from the various stakeholders, explained that the speed limiting devices would ensure that vehicles did not exceed a particular speed when on the highway.

He explained that the FRSC would not be involved in fixing the price for the devices, adding that other federal agencies would ensure that various brands were made available for transporters.

According to him, the device which comes in the electronic and mechanical forms will be installed in all types of vehicles.

Earlier in his remarks, the Zonal Head of Operations, FRSC Port Harcourt, Mr Joseph Aremu, noted that road accident crashes were preventable.

Aremu, therefore, urged road users to be cautious, while plying the highways, especially during the ‘ember’ months.

The event had in attendance the state Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr Ikechukwu Igwe, representatives of the Army, Navy, Police, Customs and health officials, among others.