Road crashes claimed 4,387 lives in the first six months of 2023

A total of 4,387 people died as a result of road traffic crashes from January to June across the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), ValidViewNetwork can report.

Data obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) website showed that 3, 372 died from road crashes in the first half of 2022 — a difference of 1, 015 (26.2%) from 2023.

Speaking during an interview on Sunday, FRSC public education officer, Bisi Kazeem, said 14, 108 injuries were also recorded, while 15,789 persons were rescued unhurt during the period.

Kazeem said to reduce fatalities, the corps engaged truck owners on the need to have functional onboard cameras for round-the-clock monitoring of their drivers.

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He added that the corps had also deepened engagement on the installation of safety valves in tankers to eliminate spillage in the event of a crash.

“From January to June, a total of 4,387 people were killed as a result of road traffic crashes,” he said.

“The corps also recorded 14,108 injuries from the crashes within the same period.

“These crashes occurred as a result of night trips, fatigue, route violation, dangerous overtaking, use of worn out/expired tyres and speeding.

“And you know our men do not operate at night, as such these drivers take advantage of our absence on the road at night to violate established traffic regulations.

“Before now, the key issue was their inability to meet basic safety standards.

“This necessitated the establishment of commands in tank farms to ensure that before any tanker loads inflammable products, it must meet the maximum safety standards.

“At the moment, we can say to a reasonable extent that the compliance level, particularly that of mandatory installation of speed limit devices, though not 100 per cent, is quite impressive.”