The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has reported that 5,700 road crashes occurred during the first half of 2023. These crashes resulted in the loss of 2,850 lives. This marks a decrease compared to the 6,627 hits and 3,375 fatalities recorded during the same period in 2022.
The FRSC noted a 14 percent reduction in the number of road crashes and a 15 percent reduction in the number of fatalities when compared to the previous year. Additionally, 16,716 individuals were recorded as injured and rescued from accidents in 2023, compared to 19,440 rescued in 2022, reflecting a 14 percent reduction.
This information was shared in a statement released by the Corps Public Education Officer, ACM Bisi Kazeem, at the FRSC headquarters in Abuja, highlighting the importance of road safety efforts and the need for continued vigilance in preventing accidents and saving lives.
The statement partly read, “In what could be tagged a successful outing in the operational front during the first six months of the year 2023, the Federal Road Safety Corps has recorded a decline in the total number of road traffic crashes, the total number of injuries and fatalities as well, when compared with the same period in 2022.
“According to the FRSC road traffic crash dashboard, within the period under consideration, the Corps recorded 5,700 road traffic crashes as against 6,627 in the same period in the year 2022, representing a 14 percent decrease.
“In the same vein, from January to June 2023, the Corps also achieved a 14 percent reduction in the number of people rescued with injuries, having rescued a total of 16,716 in 2023 against 19,440 injured victims in the first half of the year 2022.
“On the number of people killed, the Corps also recorded a significant reduction within the operational period. According to the crash data report, in the first six months of the year 2023, the Corps recorded a total of 2,850 fatalities as against 3,375 in the same period in 2022, representing a 15.5 percent reduction.
“The Corps Marshal attributed this modest achievement to a number of strategies and innovations in enforcement activities, improved presence and visibility, public enlightenment, and partners’ engagement.
“While charging drivers to desist from bad driving behaviours, Corps Marshal Dauda Ali Biu re-emphasised the commitment of the Corps towards achieving its corporate mandate of sanitising the highways and entrenching safety on the nation over 200,000 kilometers road network.”
