Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, has urged stakeholders to enunciate decisive actions that will reduce road traffic crashes in the country.
He made the call at a news briefing to commemorate the 2018 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Abuja on Friday.
The theme for this year’s event is “Roads Have Stories, for Happy Endings, Let’s Improve Road Safety”.
Oyeyemi said that the event was held on the third Sunday of November annually, to remember those who died or injured in road traffic crashes and the plight of their loved ones.
The corps marshal, who was represented by Assistant Corps Marshal, Motor Vehicle Administration, Mr Jonas Agwu, said crashes on roads were leading cause of death globally for children and young people between 10 years and 24 years.
“By implication, it has been estimated that in every six seconds, someone is killed or injured on the world’s road.”
He said that in order to call more attention to the effects of road traffic crashes, families, individuals and government should take decisive actions against the menace so that there would be common solutions to reducing the carnage.
Oyeyemi said road traffic and related activities demanded the highest mental alertness and concentration.
He said that this had made it necessary for the use was a compendium of stories that should be shared constantly to ward off the negative consequences.
“As we approach the end of the year, it is important that we rethink our road sense to be sensible and positive.
“This is so, particularly as it is a known fact that human error causes more than 75 per cent of road traffic crashes worldwide,” he said.
In his remarks, Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said that the rate of road traffic crashes across the globe was alarming.
He, therefore, called for concerted efforts to reduce the menace.
Similarly, Mr Sydney Ibeanusi, National Focal Person, UN-Decade of Action on Road Safety and Injury Prevention, Nigeria, said that the day was set aside to focus on the scale of health, economic and emotional devastation of road crashes.
“It is to also lend support to survivors of road crashes as well as celebrate efforts of emergency and medical services providers who rescue victims of road crashes.
“Since adoption of the World Day of Remembrance by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/5 in 2005, member-states of the UN, including Nigeria have observed world day of remembrance across the globe.”
Ibeanusi said that it was important for government, civil societies, all and sundry to prevent road traffic crashes by whatever means.
On his part, Dr Clement Lugala, Officer in-Charge, World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria Country Office, said that the Africa had the highest burden of crashes.
He attributed the crashes to factors including dilapidated roads and a lot of cars that probably did not meet mechanical fitness for plying the highways.
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