The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says 1,441 people reportedly died in 2,733 auto crashes between January and March across Nigeria.
FRSC corps marshal, Dauda Biu, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at a one-day stakeholders meeting on policy development and implementation on pre-fitted speed limiting device in locally-assembled and imported vehicles, revealed that 8,339 persons were injured in those crashes.
According to the corps marshal, over-speeding contributed to the high number of road fatalities, adding that with good mobility through the design and manufacturing of vehicles, crashes would reduce on Nigerian roads.
“The most worrisome part is that more than 89 percent of the crashes were speed-induced,” he said.
“In Nigeria, the picture is not different from global experience as speed emerges the highest contributory factor of road crashes, injuries and deaths.
“This observation led the FRSC to begin to search for a lasting solution having observed that behavioural and attitudinal change methods alone cannot bring the desired result.
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“Today, we are complying with the UN decade of action (2021-2030) on approach to road safety, particularly as it relates to safer vehicles.
“It is assured that if we have good mobility through design and manufacturing of vehicles, crashes will reduce on our roads ”
Biu explained that fatalities from road crashes have generated global actions and campaigns to mitigate the issue, adding that the strategy was to apply technology that is cost-effective and adaptable with the capacity to regulate speed to national thresholds.
He furthered that the development brought about speed-limiting device installation in vehicles.
The corps marshal expressed regret that attempts made in the past to enforce the policy on the installation of speed-limiting devices in commercial vehicles witnessed several postponements.
According to Biu, president Muhammadu Buhari approved the policy on April 1, 2016, but the need for advocacy delayed its implementation to October 1, 2016.
Biu noted that between October 1, 2016, and April 30, this year, 173,573 vehicles have been installed with speed limiters.
He added: “A large number of registered vehicles in Nigeria are yet to comply. This is unacceptable, hence, the urgent need for this very policy.
“The FRSC has proposed the development and implementation of the pre-fitted, speed-limiting device for all vehicles assembled in Nigeria and those imported into the country.”
