FRSC Records Highest Accidents In Dec, Jan

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says December 2016 witnessed the highest number of crashes with 903 cases followed by January, 2017, with 886 cases.
The FRSC’s Zonal Officer Commanding, Assistant Chief Marshall Kingsley Agomoh, who disclosed this during the flagging off of the 2017 Ember Months’ Safety Campaign, cautioned motorists and road users to be safety conscious while travelling during this festive period.
Agomoh noted that after December and January, March was the next month that witnessed accident cases following Easter celebration, stating that traffic crashes were attributed to various festive activities which always witness high flow of traffic across the nation.
According to him, ’’Analysis released attributed the causes of road traffic crashes in 2016 to speed violation, which topped the list, constituting 33.9 per cent, representing 3,848 of the total factors identified, followed by loss of control with 15.4 per cent.
‘’Dangerous driving accounted for 8.5 per cent. Thus, the three identified speed-related factors accounted for 57 per cent of the causes of crashes.
“Commercial vehicles topped the category of vehicles involved in dangerous driving with 8,876 while private vehicles accounted for 6,521’’, he said.
He noted that the FRSC tagged this year’s ‘’Ember Months’ Campaign: Right to Life On the Highways Not Negotiable’’, to protect road users’ right to life on the highways, and advised all motorists, particularly commercial drivers to use seat belts, and not to drink and drive or make calls while driving.
The zonal commander further urged Nigerians to be conscious and desist from any driving habit that jeopardizes other people’s right to life.
Also Speaking, a Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Transport, Dr. Clifford Ndu commended the FRSC in her efforts to ensure suitable road delivery and in fighting criminality in the state.
Ndu appealed to the Federal Government to draw its attention to the roads, especially federal highways in Port Harcourt, stating that Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu Expressway was in bad and deplorable shape.

By: Markson Tamunobubeleye & Edwin Agbadam