The Borno State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has expressed serious concern over the rising number of accident-related deaths along the Maiduguri—Damaturu road noting that road accidents was now the leading cause of death in the country.
The agency ascribes the cause of accidents on the road to overspeeding by drivers. As such, the FRSC has embarked on public enlightenment campaign on safety on the highways in all major garages and motor Parks in the state.
In an analysis of accident cases recorded in 2020 and 2021 during the campaign launch at Tashan Kano motor Park in Maiduguri on Sunday, the sector commander, Borno Sector Command, Sanusi Ibrahim, disclosed that the Benisheikh unit of the command alone had recorded 23 road traffic accidents resulting in the death of 55 people between January and October 2021 as against 11 accident cases between the same period under review in the year 2020.
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‘Sadly, in Borno State, from January 1, 2020, to November 23, 202, the Benisheikh unit command recorded a total of 11 road traffic cases involving 15 vehicles with 23 people killed; and 90 injured. While in 2021 from January to October, the same unit recorded a total of 23 road traffic crashes involving 31 vehicles, 209 people involved, 55 killed while 154 sustained injuries. In all of these crashes, the prevalent causes are speeding and tyre burst,’ the sector commander said.
He added that the increased number of road crashes is a result of some drivers’ attitude and lack of caution to safety and driving rules.
“It was observed with dismay that in a bid to maximise profits, commercial drivers engage in some bad practices such as night travels, driving under fatigue, driving under the influence of substance, speeding, over-loading, reckless driving, lane indiscipline, use of rickety vehicles and wrongful overtaking among many negative practices to the detriment of lives and property.
‘This, apart from insurgency and banditry, is among the leading causes of death in Nigeria as it killed a total of 5,574 persons in 2020; while 3,648 passengers lost their lives to road accidents in the first half of 2021’, the sector commander added.
He said the increase in the number of crashes had coincided with the rehabilitation of the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road which made it smooth and convenient for speeding by drivers.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK