120 Nigerians die in Christmas crashes – road safety

No fewer than 120 persons were killed in road crashes across the country   between December 19-28, 2014, the Federal Road Safety Corps has said.

The figure, according to the corps translates to 42 percent reduction when compared to 2013 figure of 208, within the same period.

The Corps Public Education Officer, Imoh Etuk, said this in a statement  on the FRSC yuletide patrol,on Monday in Abuja.

He said, “The reduction in the  crashes figures between 2013 and 2014 is a fall-out of the Corps’ massive deployment of personnel and logistics along critical corridors based on intelligence derived from 2013 yuletide operations.”

The corps said it also recorded 48 percent reduction in the number of road traffic crashes within the period, which stood at 193, in comparison with 368 road crashes in 2013 while a 53 percent reduction was also recorded in injuries in 2014 with 733 injured persons as against the 2013 figure of 1,564.

Details of the 2014 fatality figures indicate that while 96 males, 17 females and 7 children made up the 120 deaths, the year 2013 posted 208 deaths comprising 155 males, 33 females and 20 children.

In the same vein, the 2014 figure of 193 road traffic crashes comprise 62 fatal, 115 serious and 15 minor reported cases while the 2013 figure of 368 comprise of 113 fatal, 225 serious and 30 minor reported cases of road traffic crashes recorded in December,2014.

On injuries, the Corps also explained that the 2014 figure of 733 comprise  432 males, 185 females and 116 children while the 2013 figure of 1,564 injured persons include 1041 males, 384 females and 139 children.

The Corps Public Education Officer stated that the FRSC arraigned 1,073 traffic offenders out of 9,858 arrested for contravening 10,876 traffic-related offences.

He also said that 993 were convicted and paid appropriate fines while one Abubakar Mohammed   was sent to jail by Chief Magistrate Bello Gelangu at Kaltungo in Gombe State for refusing to stop when the Corps’ operatives flagged him down while on patrol..