Borno records more road traffic accident deaths due to improvement in economic activities within the state that was hitherto destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents

|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  May 1, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT  |

IN 2016 Borno State recorded the highest road accidents in the country. The state, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, 2016 Annual Road Traffic Crash Report, topped road accident death index with 15 deaths in every 10 cases.

This figure, the agency said, was 300 percent above the national average of five deaths in every 10 crashes recorded within the period.

Boboye Oyeyemi, corps marshal, FRSC, attributed the increase in the number and severity of crashes in Borno State in 2016 to increase in motorisation in the state. “This indicates an improvement in economic activities within the state that was hitherto destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.”

The report published by FRSC showed that the 2016 national average of road accidents represents a 16.7 percent reduction in the six deaths per 10 crashes recorded nationwide in 2015.

According to the report, Borno State is followed by Yobe State with 11 deaths per 10 crashes, while Delta and Oyo States ranked third with 10 deaths each. Gombe and Ondo States recorded nine each; Kogi and Jigawa States witnessed eight, and FCT and Bayelsa State recorded the least severity index with two deaths per 10 crashes.

Meanwhile, 9,694 road traffic accidents involving 15,682 vehicles were recorded in 2016, resulting in the death of 5,053 persons, while 30,105 others sustained various degrees of injuries in the period under review. This represents a decrease in number of crashes by 0.4 percent and fatalities by 7 percent compared to the 9,734 crashes and 5,440 deaths recorded in 2015.

According to Oyeyemi, the decrease was as a result of concerted efforts by the FRSC and massive logistics support from the federal government. He noted that the highest fatality rate was recorded between December and March, indicating the routine impact of festive periods on road safety and traffic density in the country.

Analysis of the 2016 casualty figures on gender basis showed that 79 percent or 3,970 of the dead were men, while 1,083 representing 21 percent were women. Furthermore, 22,705 males constituting 75 percent were injured, while 7,400 persons sustained varying degrees of injuries in the female category, which accounted for 25 percent.

According to the report, 357 children representing 7 percent were killed in the various road traffic accidents recorded in the year under review. It said 56.6 percent of all the vehicles involved in road crashes within the period were commercial, 41.6 percent private and 1.7 percent government vehicles.

The report noted that diplomatic vehicles accounted for 0.1 percent, cars 34 percent and motorcycles 20 percent. The report said most of the accidents occurred as a result of speed limit violation. It said that speed limit violation accounted for 34 percent of the crashes, while loss of control and dangerous driving accounted for 15 and 9 percent.

On state-by-state basis, the FCT recorded the highest accidents with 1,373 cases involving 6,965 persons resulting in 253 deaths and injuries to 2,700 persons. The report said: “Kaduna State was next with 715 reported cases involving 5,392 persons out of which 505 died and 2,849 others sustained varying degrees of injury.

“Analysis on the basis of route identified the 175 km-long Abuja-Lokoja road as the most crash-prone with a total of 531 crashes, leading to the deaths of 273 persons and injuries to 1,758 others. Lagos-Ibadan road ranked second with 366 cases which claimed 229 lives, leaving 1,396 others injured.”

—  May 1, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT

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