The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has said it was deploying a total of 800 patrol vehicles and 100 ambulances, as well as 83 motorbikes and 27 trucks, to patrol major roads across the country during the 2022 ‘Ember Months’.
It also said thousands of reflective jackets, traffic cones, tyre pressure gauges, extricating machines and digital breathalyzers, amongst others, have already been deployed across the federation to ensure usage during the period to ensure that the roads are safe.
The FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 6, Jonathan Owoade, disclosed this on Friday while speaking during the flag-off of the 2022 ‘Ember Months’ Safety Campaign in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Owoade stated that a total of 22 help areas have been activated for the operation to ensure prompt rescue services and removal of obstruction as well as to reduce death and injuries during the ’ember months’ period.
He further stated that various traffic control camps are to be established, which are dedicated to identifying the areas prone to traffic gridlock across the country, pointing out that such camps would be manned by FRSC personnel throughout the period.
Earlier in his address, FRSC Sector Commander in Rivers State, Salisu Galandunci, said speed limit violations accounted for about 55.14 per cent of road crashes in the country in 2021 alone.
Galandunci, who stated that a total of 16,337 road crashes were recorded in the country last year, with 6,205 deaths, 38,073 people injured, added that cumulatively, 9,009 accidents were caused by speed limit violations.
He listed overloading and usage of unsafe and substandard tyres as some of other major causes of road accidents in the country and advised vehicle owners to be vigilant when buying new tyres.
The Sector Commander said: “The second most worrisome offence is overloading of vehicles with either persons or goods. To load excessively our vehicles can be dangerous and injurious.
“Using unsafe and substandard tyres is as dangerous as over speeding itself. Some tyres may seem to be new in the eye while buying them, but technically, be bad or expired if they have exceeded the manufacture date or if they are exposed to harsh weather from storage or by displaying them in the hot sun while marketing them.”
