…Targets 50% accident reduction by 2030
….Seeks accelerated passage of FRSC amendment Bill
Despite efforts to reduce accidents, Nigeria still records an average of 5000 deaths and over 31,000 injuries annually from road accidents, according to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
Shehu Mohammed, Corps Marshall of the FRSC, made this disclosure at the Corps’ 8th annual public lecture at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He noted these are despite significant effort by FRSC to create awareness through enforcement, advocacy and public enlightenment campaigns.
According to him, ” Current data on road crashes reveal a yearly average of about 5,000 persons killed and 31,154 persons injured”
This year’s lecture, with the theme: ” Road Safety Management and Emerging Transportation Trends: Global Partnership and Optimal Performance”, was chosen as a deliberate guide to ensure that deliberations would proffer solutions to the challenges of emerging trends in global road transportation.
Mohammed said the theme was also carefully selected to align with the United Nations Assembly resolutions for Africa to implement measures that could reduce road crash fatalities and injuries by 50% by the year 2030.
Read also: FRSC raises alarm over surge in road crashes, 2,838 lives lost in six months
He declared that the figures underscore the need for the Corps to do more in harnessing resources towards implementing the national road safety development plan as captured in the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) document.
” As we are all aware, the NRSS was developed as a blueprint for a successful implementation of the national road safety development plan. NRSS seeks to harness the collaborative effort of road safety stakeholders from local to the Federal Government levels to holistically implement the blueprint for sustainable road transport safety management in Nigeria.
” I have a strong conviction that resolutions emanating from this lecture series could provide critical insights towards achieving this objective.
He called for the accelerated consideration of the FRSC Amendment Bill, which is awaiting concurrence by the Senate.
He noted that the bill, when passed into law, will help in strengthening legislation for the enforcement of road traffic laws and regulations.
“Indeed, it will also provide the needed motivation in terms of welfare and security of personnel that will positively impact our productivity in service delivery”.
