By Suleiman Shehu
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oyo State Command, recorded 105 road traffic crashes in the first quarter of the year, the Sector Commander, Mr Joshua Adekanye has said.
Adekanye said this during a lecture to mark the 2023 West African Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day on Monday in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the event is “Improving Road Safety Data Management: A call for Action”.
The sector commander attributed the high number of road crashes to speed violation, saying it accounted for 68.57 per cent out of the the total number of 105 recorded incidences.
He added that incidents of burst tyres and dangerous driving followed closely as they both accounted for 4.76 per cent and 11.5 per cent of the crashes recorded.
Adekanye, however, said that the record of accidents in the first quarter of the year showed a decline in road crashes in the state when compared with the first quarters of 2021 and 2022.
Adekanye said that the commitment of the corps at reducing road crashes to the barest minimum and with the support of government and other stakeholders had contributed to the decline in crashes.
“The stories on the roads can be amended from bloody to enjoyment if all road users could change their attitude and respect the rules and objectives of traffic laws.
“Our nation can be removed from the list of most dangerous roads to drive motor vehicles to global examples of safe roads that respect the sanctity of human life and provide an enabling environment for economic progress if we obey the traffic rules,” he said.
The sector commander said that the 15 countries that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are members of WARSO.
He said that the main goal of WARSO was promotion and reinforcement of road safety in West Africa through effective management of road safety and traffic matters with a view to drastically reducing road traffic crashes.
Adekanye said that WARSO Day was celebrated annually on May 8 in Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries.
In his lecture, Dr Benjamin Oluwabusuyi of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), called on FRSC to continue to improve on its services to the public and effectively manage casualty on roads in Nigeria.
He said that data collection was the responsibility of all and that every data collected helped in decision making.
Dr Matthew Olaogun, an official of the Oyo State Hospital Management Board, called for more synergy at reducing casualties on the roads and advised officials of the FRSC to be diligent in discharging their duties.
The event was attended by the Head of National Bureau of Statistics, Mr Emmanual Apata, Coordinator FRSC Special Mashals, Pastor John Adegbotoluwa, Corp Commander, Olalekan Morakinyo, Head of Data management University College Hospital (UCH),Ibadan, Dr Micheal Obaro, among others. (NAN)
