Voice Air Media, News Update

THE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has named Kwara state, and Osun state, among the four that topped the list of states with the highest fatalities of road traffic crashes during the Operation Zero Tolerance campaign in 2023.

According to the agency, the other two states are Katsina, and Jigawa states.

The crashes were primarily caused by the overloading of trailers with a combination of passengers, goods and animals, speed violations, and night trips, according to the FRSC.

The Corps Marshal, Dauda Ali Biu, disclosed this in a briefing on Monday, January 29.

Biu explained that operation Zero Tolerance campaign was a special patrol operation initiated by the corps in December 2023 to curtail road traffic crashes in the country.

He said: “Between 15th December 2023, and 15th January 2024, which marked the period of the special operations, a total of 634 road crashes took place nationwide, as against 535 in the same period in 2022, representing a 19 per cent increase.

“The 2023 crashes involved 4709 people, this is against 4162 recorded in 2022 signifying 13 per cent increase. Meanwhile, the total number of people injured increased by 17 per cent as the Corps has a record of 2,055 people injured in 2023 against 1,762 in the same period in 2022.

“Also, the Corps rescued a total of 2319 people in 2023, signifying 13 percent when compared to a total of 2,050 recorded in 2022.”

Giving further updates on the FRSC activities last year, the Corps Marshal said 5,081 persons were killed in 10,617 road crashes recorded across the country from January 2022 to December 2023.

He said this was against 6,456 recorded from 13,656 crashes in 2022, representing a 21 per cent reduction.

Biu also disclosed that 31,874 persons were injured in road traffic crashes in 2023, against 38,930 recorded in 2022, representing an 18 per cent reduction.

Revealing the death statistics, the Osun Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr Henry Benamasia, in an interview with newsmen, on Tuesday in Osogbo, disclosed that the Command in 2023 recorded 295 accidents of diverse degrees which claimed no fewer than 211 lives.

Benamasia noted that 4,971 traffic offenders were also arrested across the state in 2023, adding that the FRSC personnel rescued 976 accident victims across the state during the period.

He expressed concerns at the number of deaths recorded due to accidents during the year.

“It is worrisome that we recorded 211 deaths in 2023, we are committed to doing our best to ensure that our roads are safer,” he said.

Benamasia urged motorists to obey traffic rules and avoid over-speeding in the interest of their lives and that of other road users.

He described road safety as a shared responsibility among stakeholders, saying,” we must work together to make our roads safer.