Group canvasses measures to stem road crashes
[FILES] FRSC at a scene of accident
A group under the auspices of Greenlight Initiative has called for a stronger leadership to advance road safety course in Nigeria.
The call was made in Abuja during a one-day sensitization workshop for public drivers.
The Group Executive Director, Simon Obi, said stronger leadership was needed to realise the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.6, which calls for a 50 per cent reduction in road traffic deaths by 2020.
According to Obi, road transport has continued to remain the most dangerous means of transportation in low and middle-income countries like Nigeria, adding that road crashes has killed more Nigerians than the violence of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“In Nigeria, dangerous driving, speeding and distracted driving account to over 50 per cent causes of crashes according to the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) annual report, hence the need for continuous sensitisation and education on traffic safety.”
FRSC Unit Commander, Dutse Alhaji, Okonkwo Livinus Chima, noted that the driving and loading habits of drivers has become too worrisome, appealing to drivers to abstain from any form of distraction while driving. According to Chima, the FRSC has impounded over 30 vehicles that were overloaded, explaining that the penalty for overloading is N10,000.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Road Transportation Workers (NURTW), Dutse Alhaji, Bala Mohammed, promised to do more to ensure drivers within his purview keep to road safety rules and regulations.
