Road accidents on the rise, FRSC gives ultimatum
AN increase in road accidents in the country has made the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to issue stricter measures in five states considered most critical in road transportation in the country. The Commission’s commandants in the five states, including Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Kogi and Abuja, have been given a seven-day ultimatum to contain the trend of crashes in their areas.
The FRSC reiterated October 1, 2013, as the deadline for new drivers’ licences and new vehicle registration number-plates. While presenting the key performance indicator for half of 2012 from January to June, the Commission’s Public Education Officer, Jonas Agwu, said there was a recorded increase in the number of crashes, particularly in five areas of FRSC operations.
Though lives lost recorded a slight decrease from 2,218 in 2011 to 1,936 this year, injured persons increased from 8,487 to 9,181. The trend, he said, has to be curbed before the next festive period. “March and April recorded the highest number of crashes while January was low due to low mobility nationwide as a result of protest experienced in the country with fuel price increase, May to June was curtailed because measures were immediately put in place,” he explained.
It recorded N558,154,027 revenue generated from National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS) and fines from road offenders in the last six months, a reduction from the 2011 N576,057,796. The key performance indicator showed 21.6 per cent increase in the RTC, leaving the figure at 2,717 compared to 2,235 in the first-half of 2011. Also, the FRSC recorded decrease in both revenue generation from National Vehicle Identification Scheme and fines from offences.
Agwu, however, stressed that the agency was not primarily established to generate revenue for the country but rather, to reduce the number of lives lost on the road due to crashes. He added: “With the realisation of the increase in road crashes, a seven-day ultimatum has been issued to senior commandants in five states that have the larger share of the road transport crashes. We don’t wait till the festive period. As we notice the trend of things, we act as a response team to bring this down.”
He advocated attitudinal change in people while using roads and not to expose their lives to danger and death, particularly those who use phones while driving. “We will continue the engagement of motoring public on the dangers of RTC, increase the patrol operation as enforcement safety and expand the scope of monitoring besides the increase in the number of zebra emergency points from four to 12,” he said.
From: The Guardian
Source: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94071:road-accidents-on-the-rise-frsc-gives-ultimatum&catid=1:national&Itemid=559
