112 crashes recorded within 3 months

The Lagos State Sector Command of the FRSC on Saturday said that no fewer than 751 people were involved in 112 road traffic crashes between January and March.

The Sector Commander, Mr Hyginus Omeje, said this during the commission’s 2016 First Quarter Performance Review Programme in Isolo, Lagos.

Omeje said that the record showed an increase of 43.6 per cent when compared with the 545 people that were involved in 78 crashes in the same period in 2015.

He said that 227 people were injured and 23 killed in first quarter while 173 were injured and 25 killed in the same period in 2015.

"Of all the problems that is affecting us as a nation, road traffic crash is a dangerous malaise which we must tackle quickly because it affects the future of our society.

"FRSC strategic goals for 2016 are to improve fleet regulation, sustain stakeholders' consultation and collaborate with states on improved road safety administration.

"We are also to improve enforcement and public education with a view to reducing Road Traffic Crashes by 15 per cent and its fatality by 25 per cent," he said.

Omeje said that a lot was required of the commission to live up to its mandate of ensuring safety of all road users, stressing the need for continuous community and stakeholders' involvement.

In his remarks, the Zonal Commanding Officer in Charge of Ogun and Lagos States, Mr Nseobong Akpabio, said FRSC was committed to stemming the increase in crashes and losses and urged all stakeholders to work harder.

Akpabio called on officers of the commission to be civil in their approach with the public while on duty saying, `` we should do away with all aggressive ways in the discharge of our duties.’’

The Guest Lecturer, Prof. Bamidele Badejo, Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun, identified key factors of road traffic losses to include human, environmental and mechanical.

Badejo, who was a former Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, called for the construction of new roads rather than concentrating on rehabilitation of existing ones.

"If the consumption of road is becoming higher, what are we doing to save our roads?

`` Railway is the way. We need railway structure that will accommodate passengers' and goods' movement," he said.

He said that the number of FRSC officers and equipment were far below the population of vehicular movement across the country.

The don also advised the commission to improve on its image, human relation and upgrading of its data.

The event entitled, "Actualising FRSC's Strategic Goals for Sustainable Development in Nigeria, " had in attendance commanding officers and other stakeholders in the transport industry in the state.