The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Delta Command, advises motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations to stem crashes on highways during and after the ember months.
Mr. Bassey Eshiet, the Sector Commander of FRSC Delta Command, gave the advice at the flag-off of Ember Months Campaign 2023, entitled “Speed Thrills, Speed Kills, Drive Responsibly, and Avoid Overloading”.
According to him, towards the end of every year, the volume of traffic increases, coupled with high incidences of road traffic infractions.
“These infractions include route violation, excessive speeding, dangerous driving, wrongful overtaking, overloading, drunk driving, driver fatigue, and making calls while driving.
“These risk factors result in road traffic crashes with fatalities, and the high vehicular volume due to the surge in movement of people results in traffic gridlock, fatigue, and sometimes road traffic crashes, amongst others.
“The Corps’ determination to check these trends and ensure free flow of traffic culminated in the 2023 Ember Months Road Safety Campaign prior to the commencement of the 2023 End of Year Special Patrol Operation from December 2023 to January 2024.
“The aim of the campaign is to immensely reduce crashes and to ensure, as much as possible, the elimination of death from crashes that may occur, if any,” he said.
Eshiet noted that the higher the speed of a vehicle, the shorter the time a driver has to stop and avoid a crash, adding that speeding contributes to the severity of the impact when a collision occurs.
According to him, controlling vehicle speed can prevent crashes and reduce the impact when they do occur, lessening the severity of injuries sustained by the victim.
“What is obvious to you may not be obvious to others; most people don’t think `Road Safety’ as long as they have a good vehicle and a reasonable stretch of road.
“A car travelling at 50 km/h will typically require 13 metres to stop, while a car travelling at 40 km/h will stop in less than 8.5 metres.
“An increase in average speed of 1 km/h typically results in a 37 percent higher risk of a crash involving injury, with a four percent to five percent increase for crashes that result in fatalities.
“For car occupants in a crash with an impact speed of 80 km/h, the likelihood of death is 20 times what it would have been at an impact speed of 30 km/h.
“The relationship between speed and injury severity is particularly critical for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.
“Pedestrians have been shown to have a 90 percent chance of survival when struck by a car travelling at 30 km/h or below, but less than a 50 percent chance of surviving an impact at 45 km/h.
“Pedestrians have almost no chance of surviving an impact of 80 km/h,” he said.
The Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by Vincent Ehiwario, Director, Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), identified a lack of maintenance culture as a major cause of crashes on the road.
“Many people fail to engage in simple maintenance checks and servicing of their vehicles, such as the brakes, tyres, steering, etc.
“It is important to check these things because they are major causes of road crashes, and checking them can prevent loss of lives and properties,” he said.
Mr. Silas Omobude, Assistant Director, Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), warned motorists to desist from illicit use of drugs while steering and drunk-driving during and after the “ember” month.
“Most of the road crashes that occur during the `ember’ months are caused by the bad attitudes of drivers.
“Drunk-driving and illicit use of drugs are not allowed during, before, or after ’ember’ months.
“Motorists should ensure effective functioning of the steering system, headlights, brakes, wipers, and tyres for safety,” he said.
