90% of road crashes caused by human factor, says Minister

The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Saidu Alkali has said that statistics have revealed that over 90 per cent of Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) in Nigeria were caused by human factor.

Alkali said this at the 2024 annual safety manager retreat, organized by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Thursday in Abuja.

The minister mentioned the human factors as negligence, fatigue, lack of adherence to safety protocols among others.

“As safety managers, you are the vanguard against such tragedies.

“Therefore, I call on you to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and sister agencies like the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to ensure a unified approach to road safety and fleets efficiency in Nigeria.

“As we convene here today, let us focus on collaboration. Share your experiences, challenges, and successes.

“Challenge conventional thinking, explore innovative strategies that align with our shared mission: protecting lives and enhancing flee performance.

“I encourage each of you to take back the insights and be practices from this retreat to your teams.

“Together, we can foster a safer, smarter, and more sustainable future for fleet management in Nigeria,”he said.

Alkali said that it was significant to remind the stakeholders that safety was a shared responsibility adding that it called for all hands to be on deck.

“We need to know that we are here to save lives, reduce risks, and build a future where technology and human ingenuity work hand in hand.

“The road ahead may be challenging, but it is also filled with multiple opportunities.

“By embracing innovation and prioritizing safety, we can make 2024 a landmark year in driver management and fleet safety,”he said.

In his remarks, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Malam Shehu Mohammed emphasised that safety managers were professionals and were duty-bound to their employers to ensure organisational advancement.

The FRSC boss said that the Corps therefore, relied on them to uphold the highest level of professionalism.

This, he said was considering that unprofessional practices would translate to carnage on the roads and of course reduce the fortunes of their respective organizations.

“To achieve this, fleet operators are expected to introduce improved safety practices and ensure comfort of their passengers, customers in compliance with traffic regulations.

“This also includes with provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

“As you know, passengers and customers have the rights to report any form of disservice to the FCCPC for action, ‘he said.

The FRSC boss emphasized that compliance with other Road Transport Safety Standardization Scheme (RTSSS) guidelines on effective vehicle maintenance, proper administration of the passenger manifest was imperative.

“On the other hand, articulated vehicles operators must ensure proper latching of goods, while twist lock should be used for container truck in transit to avoid fall off.

“Wet cargos operators are to ensure the use of safety valves. Safety managers are therefore urged to take these issues as critical in ensuring fleet safety.

“Please remember that we are already in the ‘ember’ months which we know to be usually characterized by increased mobility, frenzy of activities, and pressure to meet targets.

“Unfortunately, it is also a period when many drivers (especially commercial drivers) throw caution to the wind by speeding, taking little or no rest at all which results in fatigue and eventually crashes.

“We therefore hope that safety managers would do the needful to ensure that their drivers observe all required safety precautions of road use and ‘drive to stay alive’ within this period and beyond,”he said.

The FRSC boss believed that with this concerted approach and judicious implementation of the advocated practices, crashes on Nigerian roads would someday be eradicated.

This, he said was as the Corps envisioned and should crashes ever occur, it would be with minimal consequences.