….Says Speed accounts for 70% of road accidents in Nigeria
Ahead of this year’s Ember month activities, the Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC said the agency is redesigning its operations to ensure Driver’s Licenses are rolled out, three days after capture.
This is coming on the heels of public outcry over the delays in the issuance of Driver’s Licenses, which often last for months after necessary capturing and payment of required fees.
Recalled that the agency had through a special task force in June, this year, promised speedy release of Driver’s Licenses to applicants, producing about 73,000 in two weeks.
This target is said to be of strategic importance as Nigeria’s Driver’s License, is globally accepted as means of identification.
Moreover, BusinessDay gathered that holders of the license are also permitted to drive in most cities of the world, including the United States of America.
Shehu Mohammed, the FRSC Corps Marshal, speaking during a media chat with BusinessDay, ahead of the 2024 ember month activities, however, urged Nigerians to be patient with the agency, stating that he is aware of the current delays and promised to clear the backlog soon.
Mohammed disclosed that the agency is also strengthening its operations to ensure that only well-trained drivers who are successful in their tests get Nigeria’s Driver’s License, to enhance its credibility.
The Corps Marshal blamed the current delays on operational hiccups faced by the producers of the License
“ Unlike the Nigerian Passport, to get the Driver’s license, the potential holder must first be trained and he or she needs to pass the necessary tests before one can be issued Nigeria’s Drivers License.
“We have partners at the back end who do the production of the License. They have been facing challenges with their machines, but we are aware that they have acquired new machines which are being test run and which will make the production of driver’s licenses faster.
“Under the new arrangements, we are targeting that the driver’s licenses should be out three days after capture.
Mohammed revealed that the agency currently has over 30,000 staff strengthen, across the 500 formations and over 275 commands, with each state having three Area Commands.
Speaking on the activities lined up ahead of the coming ember months, Mohammed said the agency is also creating a safe environment for road traffic.
He disclosed that the nation witnessed about 5200 crashes in 2024, representing about a 2.5% reduction, over 2023.
Mohammed while lamenting the high fatalities amongst passengers, said the agency will from this year, target passengers in its public enlightenment activities
“Statistics have shown that the number of fatalities is more amongst the passengers, because some drivers escape unhurt in some instances, while passengers are regularly trapped
“Now, we are shifting our focus on the passengers, using the town halls for public enlightenment, in addition to the traditional motor parks.
“Our advocacy and sensitization is targeted at saving lives and properties.
“The crashes are man-made and can be avoided and fatalities occur more amongst the commercial drivers.
He listed the commonest causes of the crashes, to include over speeding
“We do our analysis every week and we found out that excessive speeds, especially on very good roads account for about 70%, while bad roads account for less, among the causes of accidents on our roads.
We want to enlighten the passengers so that they can caution the drivers when they engage in overspeeding and to be alert when travelling so that they can checkmate the drivers. This is very important because the fatality rate is higher amongst the passengers.
“We noticed that in Nigeria, the good roads encourage more crashes because of high speeds.
“Speed is the major cause of crashes, while others like use of phones, fatigue, drugs/ substance abuse, also contribute
He revealed that the highest number of crashes occur on the Lagos- Ibadan road.
He also revealed that the agency has developed a one-stop-shop App that will help check the excesses of its men during operations, help in emergency cases and ultimately reduce carnage on Nigerian roads.
