Two hundred and twenty-one persons were killed in 546 road accidents in Nasarawa State in 2018, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Mrs. Faustina Alegbe, the State Commander, told the News Agency of Nigeria, on Thursday in Lafia that 3,296 persons were involved in the crashes that left 1,785 badly injured.
Alegbe said that 106 accidents were fatal, 423 considered critical, while 17 cases were recorded as minor.
โSadly, the highest number of cases were recorded in December, while the least number of accidents were recorded in May,โ she said.
She attributed the high figure recorded in December to the festive period when many people tended to want to travel from one place to another.
On measures to curb the number of road crashes in 2019, Alegbe explained that the FRSC was planning to improve on corps visibility on the highways across the state and also ensure effective measures to reduce response time.
โWe will also intensify campaign on proper road use. Most of these campaigns will be done in motor parks where we will engage commercial drivers and passengers on the right steps to take before embarking on a journey.
โWe will also strengthen our collaboration with stakeholders and sister agencies and establishments, and be more strict over the issuance of driverโs licence.
โOur goal is not to make life difficult for Nigerian drivers, but to drill in them the importance of adhering to rules guiding driving on the highway so as to reduce accidents to the barest minimum,โ she said.
Alegbe, who appealed to road unions to conduct constant medical check for their members, also revealed that the FRSC, in 2019, would visit parks every month, to check the medical status of drivers.
โWe have had cases of drivers sleeping on the job. Some have even collapsed while driving. So, we have asked the unions to take a closer interest in the medical history of their members.
โWe will also be visiting the parks with our medical personnel to check the drivers. We will be pushing harder for safety this year,โ she declared.
