By Abimbola Oguunnaike
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has disclosed that at least 40,000 people die annually as a result of road traffic crashes across the country.
Corps Marshal FRSC, Dauda Biu, made this disclosure in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital during activities marking the 7th United Nations Global Road Safety Week.
Biu said that these facts were the unholy statistics of Road Traffic Crashes and injuries which were a leading cause of death and disability, just as he also added 1.3 million people were killed and as many as 50 million people get injured each year globally.
According to him, there is no greater threat to people, aged 5-29 years than Road Traffic Crashes, as one in every four deaths occurs among pedestrians and cyclists.
“In Nigeria, over 40,000 persons die annually as a result of this avoidable scourge, FRSC boss said.
He said that the United Nations had developed a global plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, adding that this has reflected an ambitious target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries, which would be by 50 per cent by 2030.
Biu said that the 2023 edition of the event with the theme, ‘’Sustainable Transport‘’ is slated for Monday to Sunday.
“FRSC is partnering with the World Health Organisation, Federal Ministry of Health and United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Injury Prevention to mark the event with various activities,” he said.
According to him, the need to take action to ensure safe roads, vehicles and behaviours as well as to improve emergency care is paramount.
“The 7th UN Global Road Safety Week is focusing on sustainable transport with the slogan #RethinkMobility, which necessitates the urgent need to shift to walking, cycling and using public transport.
“The key messages of this year’s event centre on the need for governments and their partners to rethink mobility.
“Ensuring safety must be at the core of efforts to re-imagine mobility and thus road networks must be designed with the most-at-risk in mind, “he said.
He, however, called on government at all levels and partners to rethink mobility with a mindset to providing access to safe and affordable mobility systems for all.
Biu stressed the need for government to make available accessible, resilient, low and sustainable mobility systems to create livable cities that would fulfil the mobility needs of all.
This, Corps Marshal said was to ensure safety at all costs, adding that the road network must be designed in consideration of the vulnerable road users who were the most at risk in mind.
Biu noted that this would ensure that they feel safe walking and cycling, adding that this would further promote good health, sustainable cities and an equitable society.
Meanwhile, the Focal Person/Country representative, UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, Prof. Sydney Ibeanusi, said that government would continue to put the issue of road safety on the front burner.
Ibeanusi said that Nigeria had a better system, saying, “What we want to show the world was that the system actually exists.
“Nigeria has been chosen as a country to improve cycling, and Abuja has been chosen as one of the five states globally.
