Auto Crashes Claim 1,936 In Six Months

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said yesterday that 1,936 people died as a result of road accidents in the first half of 2012.

The  FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, Mr Jonas Agwu disclosed this in Abuja at the Federal Road Safety Corps Half year report for 2012.

“The fatality figure of 1,936 persons shows a decline by 12.7 percent compared to the 2,218 figure recorded in the first half of 2011, depicting that the FRSC is carrying out its mandate.”

The report also showed that the month of March and April remained the most “challenging” because of the high number of road crashes, fatalities, injuries, persons and vehicles involved in accidents.

“This is because of the quantum of travels as a result of various religious festivities in the country during that period.’’

Agwu said the biggest cause of road accidents was the behaviour of road users who still drive without due consideration for traffic rules and regulations.

“People say the roads need to be fixed and government is doing something about it. But the fact still remains that it is not the bad roads, but the bad usage of either good or bad roads that results in a crash.

Agwu said the FRSC had put in place certain measures to reduce road traffic crashes and the number of people injured as a result of the accidents.

The report also indicated that the quantity of National Driver’s Licence (NDL) and Vehicle Number plates produced had also reduced, compared to the record in the first half of 2011.

It attributed the decrease to the National Assembly’s order to the FRSC, demanding the suspension of licence and number plate production in the months of April, May and June 2012.