There are 33.7 deaths per 100,000 population in Nigeria every year, according to , making the country one of the countries with the highest number of fatalities in Africa.
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi disclosed this on Monday in Kaduna while addressing newsmen in commemoration of the 4th United Nations Global Road Safety Week.
According to him, Nigeria with the population of 178.5million has over 7.6million cars plying its 204,000 kilometers road network. This statistics he said, shows that there was a high pressure on the road network which makes the prevalence of road accidents high.
“Countries successfully reducing road traffic deaths have done so by prioritizing safety when managing speed. Among the proven strategies to address speed include: building or modifying roads to include features that calm traffic, establish speed limits to the function of each road, enforcing speed limits, installing in-vehicle technologies and raising awareness about the dangers of speeding,” he said.
He, however, stated that FRSC had introduced installation of speed limit devices in commercial vehicles to combat the frequency of road accidents in the country. In the Federal Capital Territory, he said, over 1.5million people commute using commercial vehicles.
“This is one of the many reasons why FRSC has ordered that commercial vehicles should install speed limiters. Speed limiters are used in countries like Europe and Great Britain and are fast gaining grounds in Africa with its implementation in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Speed limiters have proved to ensure safety for road users, they also have other benefits like low fuel consumption and low gas emission into the atmosphere,” he added.
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