33% of Nigerian vehicles drive on Lagos roads – FRSC

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The Federal Road Safety Corps says 33 per cent of the vehicles in Nigeria drive on the roads of Lagos State. The corps said this was the reason the state had become synonymous with gridlock.

The Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer of the FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, said this at the inauguration of the ‘Ember’ months campaign in Lagos on Tuesday.

The FRSC boss, who was represented by Deputy Corps Commandant, Adei Abu, said at the event themed, ‘Operation Sanity: Driving into Year 2016’, that there was a need for motorists to be more careful as the Yuletide approaches.

He said, “The corps appreciates the support of the state government in creating an enabling environment for traffic management in Lagos State. This effort is significant considering that the state accounts for about 33 per cent of the vehicular traffic in this country.

“It is also important to note the efforts of the Lagos State governor in tackling the traffic situation in Lagos and his efforts in collaborating with other relevant institutions in combating the situation considering the security implication of motorists being trapped in gridlock.”

He revealed that in 2013, the FRSC recorded 760 road crashes nationwide but the rate of accident reduced by 42 per cent in 2014 as 419 road crashes were recorded.

The FRSC boss urged his men to ensure that the Yuletide recorded a low accident rate.

Also speaking, the Zonal Commander, Mr. Charles Akpabio, warned motorists against speeding and overconfidence.

He noted that the Yuletide was usually characterised by heavy traffic due to the increase in trade. He, therefore, urged motorists to be patient.

He added, “I will like to identify certain negative human elements that cause road crashes. They are: speeding, overconfidence, use of phones while driving, drink-driving and dangerous overtaking.

“Information from crash investigations indicate that these negative human factors have continued to dominate the driving habit of most road users and as such, constitute the most predominant causative factors in road crashes. Eighty per cent of the causes of road traffic crashes are attributed to human factors.”

Source: Punch