Between January and August 2023, according to the Lagos State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, 353 traffic accidents resulted in 79 fatalities in the state.
This information was made public on Thursday during the 2023 Ember Months Campaign’s official launch, which was hosted by the FRSC Lagos Sector Commander and Guinness Nigeria Plc.
The campaign’s slogan, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), is “Speed Thrills but Kills: Drive Responsibly and Avoid Overloading.”
Farinloye said that 603 other people were injured in various ways during the same time period under consideration, some of them had lasting disability.
Road accidents, according to the sector commander, were caused by speeding, carrying too much weight, and operating carelessly. He said that these incidents highlighted abuse of the roads, the cars, and other road users’ rights.
In roughly 96% of road traffic accidents, speed has been found to be a cause or exacerbating factor, he said, adding that it might take two forms: excessive speed and improper speed.
According to Farinloye, statistics also showed the potential for a high rate of driving while intoxicated throughout the holiday season, in addition to speeding, overloading, and recklessness.
The sector commander reported that four passengers were killed just a few days earlier, at 00:45 in the morning, in a collision involving a luxury bus and a vehicle executing a U-turn at Kara end of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
These catastrophes result in a significant loss of human potential, a high level of trauma, social costs, and other effects that could alter the path of many people’s lives.
The core of our ongoing campaign and actions is this. Nobody’s life cannot be prematurely taken as a necessary cost of movement on the highways.
Therefore, we are launching this effort today to firmly establish and repeatedly remind ourselves that crashes are self-destructive events.
“We (the users of the roads) are the main causes; we are the sufferers, and we must provide the remedy. And it starts with everyone of our unique convictions and mindsets!,” he exclaimed.
According to the sector commander, the three primary road safety imperatives for this time period were taken into consideration when choosing this year’s subject.
He claimed that the campaign was a crucial part of the FRSC’s strategic initiatives to raise Nigerians’ awareness of the realities of traffic accidents and their staggering effects on people’s lives and societies.
According to Farinloye, each year more than 1.3 million people worldwide die in traffic-related accidents, and another 50 million suffer injuries of varying severity.
The sector commander further noted that 91 percent of traffic deaths worldwide occurred in poor countries, including Nigeria, with yearly GDP losses ranging from 3 to 5 percent.
“For us at the FRSC Lagos State Sector Command, we shall be deploying the full capacity of the command for a multifaceted intervention,” he declared.
“This takes the shape of traffic control, point-of-load education and surveillance, strategic advocacy, and help-area for emergency response during this holiday season.
We will pursue our programs focused on the top crash-causing causes in the most aggressive and effective manner. Operation Zero’s goal for 2023 is still “Zero Fatality.”
Farinloye urged every stakeholder, including other drivers, to help with the difficult effort by modeling good driving behavior and spreading the word about safety among our many constituencies.
The Zonal Commanding Officer for Zone 2, ACM Gilbert Igbokwe, said in a statement that the nation and its citizens continue to suffer tremendous trauma as a result of the road traffic issue.
Igbokwe said that because of this, the command could not afford to delay in taking decisive action to address any unfavorable road use aversion, such as reckless driving, exceeding the posted speed limit, or overloading.
He urged drivers to act quickly to promote safe driving practices in order to promote state development, economic progress, and improved health.
In order to eliminate road carnage for the good of humanity, the zonal commander also requested the Ministry of Transportation to support the effort.
Additionally, Mr. John Masunga, the managing director of Guinness, asked customers, drivers, and the general public to make a personal commitment to abstain from alcohol while operating a motor vehicle.
Remember that drivers must make sure that passengers not only get to their destinations safely but also get home safely to be with their family and loved ones, advised Magunda.
“The goal of this campaign is to encourage a culture of not drinking and driving while promoting safety on our roadways.
We feel that we have a big obligation to spread the word about how important it is to drink responsibly because we are the market leader.
Representatives from the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Fire Service, the Nigerian Army, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and other organizations attended the event.
Free health screenings for things like blood pressure and sugar levels were offered during the event.
