By Ejiofor Toochi
According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, Africa has the highest road accident death rates globally, with Nigeria having the highest cases.
Every year in Nigeria, thousands of deaths caused by road accidents are recorded. Factors such as bad roads, speed violation, carelessness of drivers, overloading, and sometimes, bad weather, and poor vehicle maintenance, contribute to this issue.
Lack of enforcement of traffic laws, and limited access to emergency medical services is also a major factor.
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In 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), there were a total of 13,656 road accidents reported in Nigeria. Out of these cases, Lagos State accounted for 609 accidents.
For many years, these road accidents have continued to claim many lives. Despite this unfortunate reality, it’s alarming that there’s still a high number of daily reported accidents, which further jeopardizes the safety of roads in Lagos State.
Many drivers and motorists continue to put theirs and the lives of other road users at risk with their carelessness and ignorance of traffic laws.
The FRSC, Lagos State Sector Command, recently released some concerning data. They reported that since the beginning of 2023, there have been 376 road accidents in Lagos State. Sadly, these accidents resulted in the loss of 128 lives.
In an interview with the PUNCH, the FRSC Lagos Sector Commander, Babatunde Farinloye, shared some valuable insights. He mentioned that the major causes of these accidents are driver’s distraction and speeding, especially among motorists.
Additionally, there is a significant issue of continuous disobedience to traffic rules.
He assured that the FRSC is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of all vehicles, especially during this ’ember’ period.
The statistics on road accidents this year alone, highlight the critical need for ongoing efforts to improve road safety measures and decrease the occurrence of accidents in Lagos State.
It’s crucial for road users to diligently follow the rules and regulations, and for road officials to ensure that everyone complies with them.
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