The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra on Thursday said it arrested 525 traffic offenders at different locations in the state during the 2021 Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, told journalists in Awka that two lives were lost, while five people sustained injury in three different crashes that occurred during the celebration.
Irelewuyi said the records showed a 50 per cent reduction in the number of crashes recorded in previous years.
According to him, the reduction was as a result of the high deployment of officers and technical resources as well as traffic control strategy.
“We deployed over 1,000 personnel and Special Marshal ahead of the festival from July 16 to July 25,2021 on special patrol.
“We arrested a total of 525 offenders for various traffic offences across the state, and they were prosecuted and booked accordingly. The most prevalent offence was seat belt violation.
“It is sad that people are still not complying with safety belt use while on the road. This has formed the focus of our next line of action during the post Sallah patrol.
“We also recorded a total number of three crashes within the period; one of them was fatal and claimed two lives. Five persons were injured with a total of seven vehicles involved,” he said.
Irelewuyi said there was the need for attitudinal change to seat belt violation among motorists.
According to him, many motorists do not understand that the seat belt is a safety device.
“Using seat belt does not actually prevent crashes from happening but when properly used, it reduces the risk of injury in cases of crash by 50 percent.
“This realisation has not sunk into our road users. I believe that with continued public enlightenment and enforcement, we will get there.
“It is not an easy task to change attitude built over the years,” he said. (NAN)
