The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it has achieved a 15 per cent reduction in road crashes within the Lagos State Sector Command.
The FRSC Lagos State Sector Commander, Corps Commander Olusegun Ogungbemide, made the disclosure during a Town Hall Meeting at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos on Wednesday.
The meeting had the theme : “Accomplishing 15 per cent Reduction in Road Traffic Crash Fatality and Enhancing Road Safety Partnership for Innovation Intervention”.
The Corps Commander noted that human factor played a major role in the cause of crashes on the road.
This, he said, was the reason for the need to re-educate and re-orientate the motoring public, as they had just done.
Ogungbemide said that such enlightenment initiatives to the motoring public had helped the sector achieve the 15 per cent reduction in road traffic crashes along Lagos/Ibadan corridor.
“So many policies have been put it place by FRSC that have really assisted in reducing road crashes.
“The policy of ‘Safe to Load’ put together by the Federal Government , through the FRSC, which ensured that a vehicle met minimum safety standard also helped curtail these crashes.
“The inability to meet the standards meant that one will not be allowed to load at various depots and the Nigerian Ports Authority points.
“All these efforts have gone a long way in reducing road crashes, saving lives and the roads and it is helping us,” he said.
Ogungbemide said that the command currently had representatives for data collation in all the local government areas in the state,as against the previous 14 areas and six outposts.
He said that all these factors by the command had helped to reduce the rate of crashes and fatality to barest minimum.
Ogungbemide advised all the communities to always follow the rules and regulations guiding road users and usage to assist government achieve its mandate of reducing crashes to zero.
He appealed to road users to visit any of their units to assist them with any challenges they might be going through in getting the necessary particulars to ply the roads.
The Corridor Commander Lagos/Ibadan Axis, Deputy Corps Commander Kehinde Hamzat, said that the enlightenment was to achieve the United Nations Strategic Goals.
According to him, some of the goals include road safety management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response, and safer driving environments.
He said the enlightenment also targeted the community people because of their role in reviving accident victims before the FRSC personnel arrive.
The Lagos State Coordinator of the Special Marshal, Mr Olusegun Akintan, said they came to address community people and the road users to understand how to use the roads.
Akintan said that if the motoring public applied all the rules and regulation concerning safety, crashes on the road would reduce.
The traditional leader of the area, Oba of Ipaja, Oba kolawole Egundupe, represented by Alhaji Lamide Sobola, Secretary of Ipaja Oba Council, commended the effort of the FRSC for the quarterly enlightenment with the people in the communities.
Egundupe said that the enlightenment had assisted the people to become first respondents which he said had revived many road accident victims across the metropolis.
He pledged his continued support to the FRSC to enable it achieve its core mandate.
The Branch Secretary, Park and Garages, Alimosho area, Mr Adefolusho Folarin, revealed that drivers operating along the axis were usually engaged and enlightened quarterly to address the previous frequent crash experience.
Folarin stated that they had stopped the sale of alcohol at their garages and ensured that drivers always had their valid drivers licence.
Also, the Hausa Leader in Iyana Ipaja, Malam Baba-Yakosa Muhammed, said they came to collaborate with FRSC and other regulatory agencies to provide space for the operation of tricycles, popularly called “Keke Napep”, following the ban of motorcycles in some parts of the state.
