FRSC 2010 FACT SHEET: A TOAST TO VISION

In his desire to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of the affairs of the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Osita Chidoka addressed a press conference on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 to highlight some areas of operational activities of the Corps within the first six months of the year. This was with a view to keeping members of the public abreast of developments in the Corps’ operational activities and how it is tackling the challenges of road traffic crashes in the country through aggressive enforcement and public enlightenment programmes.
Giving the situation report on the enforcement of the law on crash helmet which commenced on 1st January 2009, Chidoka acknowledged some challenges being faced by the Corps in enforcing the law, but restated his commitment to pursuing it with greater vigour. According to him “there is nothing medically, culturally and religiously wrong with riders and passengers using crash helmet for protection against head injuries; therefore, the current tempo of enforcement of the law will be sustained in the remaining part of the year and beyond”.

Stating further, he said: “While between January and June last year we arrested a total of 38,921 crash helmet offenders, we have through concerted efforts increased the number to 63,048 between January and June this year, representing a 61% increase”.

In dealing with the challenges of overloading which was discovered through the Free Safety Checks exercise initiated by the Corps about three years ago to be a major cause of road traffic crashes and increasing rate of fatality in the country, he said a special operation tagged “Total War On Overloading” (TOWOL) was launched. Though this has created positive impacts on the organised members of union operating from legal parks across the country who now obey the rule, the worst violators now he said are those who operate from illegal parks using private vehicles for commercial purposes.

To address this, he said enforcement was stepped up by the Corps resulting to a situation where “between January and June last year, we arrested a total of 3,389 offenders for contravening the law, whereas we have within the same period this year, that is January and June arrested 9,278 offenders for overloading violations, representing an increase of 73%”.

On road traffic crashes which have become a threat to the social and economic development of the nation, he said the battle is being vigorously fought and would ultimately be won as necessary training and logistics are being provided to the staff to make them more efficient in their operations. Part of these strategies he said include “increment in patrol cars, ambulances, motorbikes, setting up of more commands and establishment of more help areas/ road side clinics, especially in crash- prone areas”. Data collection method and collaboration with relevant stakeholders he further stated are being ensured.

The cumulative result of these concerted efforts of the Corps he said is that “while the nation recorded 5,560 cases of road traffic crash in which 3,183 people were killed with 14,349 sustaining various degrees of injury between January and June last year, this has reduced to 2,709 cases with 1,822 lives lost and 8,728 people sustaining various degree of injury this year”. In other words, as compared to this period last year, “the rate of road crash in the country has been reduced by 51.27%; while death and injury rates have gone down by 42.75% and 39.17% respectively”

Despite the operational successes of the Corps however, he observed that there are some identified roads in the country witnessing frequent cases of road crash involving trucks, trailers and min-buses with high fatality rate, but which the Corps is working hard against. Such corridors with frequent cases of road crash he identified were:
Katsina-Kano road;
Jos-Bauchi-Gombe;
Ibadan-Ikire-Gbongon-Ife-Ilesha-AKure;
Victoria Island-Lekki- Epe-Aja;
Giri-Gwagwalada-Yangoji -Kotonkarfi-Lokoja-Okene and
Zairagi-Kabba-Omuo- Ilupeju-Oye-Ifaki.

As a result of the increased operational activities; establishment of more commands; purchase of more patrol vehicles and the effects of closed user group (CUG) which are being effectively utilised in the operational activities of the Corps led to what he said was “improvements in the number of offenders arrested with offences committed this year when compared with same period last year”. For example he stated: “while 219,099 offenders were apprehended with 229,211 offences between January and June last year, this has improved to 293,268 offenders with 320,015 offences between January and June this year, representing an increase of 39.6% and 33.85% respectively”. Consequently, he further stated: “Within the months of January and June this year, the Corps had already generated the sum of N795,399,714.95 as fines as against the sum of N565,236,233.80 generated within the same period last year, representing an increase of 30%”. He emphasised however that “the fines are promptly paid into the Federation Accounts everyday”.

Abuja Emergency Ambulance Services Scheme launched in August last year was one area he touched during the press conference. According to him “within the months of January and June this year, 289 cases of road traffic crash in which 53 people lost their lives and 586 people sustaining various degrees of injury had been recorded by the Corps. Giving further insights to this, he said, “1,554 people were given prompt medical attention and safely rescued through prompt response to distress calls”. Adding, “If the Ambulance emergency service schemes were to be in place in the first half of last year, it might have rescued the 1,041 cases of road mishap which resulted to the death of 176 people in which 865 people sustained various degree of injury in 2009 when the scheme was not yet in place”.

On the public enlightenment programmes of the Corps within the first six months of the year, he said about “5,000 traffic offenders have been educated by the Corps in all its commands across the country, while over one million offenders’ records have been captured in the new offenders’ database being prepared”. The Corps’ website he added “is continually recording high number of visitors with over 4000 people currently following our activities on the facebook”.

At the end of his interaction with members of the press, no one was left in doubt that the reform programmes he put in place about three years ago in managing the affairs of the Corps is “on course”. And as he puts it to members of the press: “FRSC’s’ days of glory cannot be behind, but before us; the current road traffic crash situation in the country though very challenging is not insurmountable and we will remain committed to realising the dream of crash-free roads for Nigeria”.