The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Imo State recorded 62 road accidents and 43 deaths from January to October 2024.
The FRSC Sector Commander in Imo State, Anthony Uga, disclosed this at the official launch of the command’s 2024 “Months of Embers” campaign in Owerri on Thursday.
The theme of the year's “ember months” campaign is: “Speak out against dangerous driving: accidents kill more passengers than drivers.”
Uga said a total of 234 people were injured in the accidents and the most common cause was speeding, while the route most vulnerable to accidents was the Owerri-Aba corridor.
He noted that the behavior of drivers who tend to “double their efforts” to make ends meet during the Christmas holidays and that of road users constituted 70 percent of the threats on the roads.
He added that the campaign would raise awareness about the economic, health, mental and emotional cost of traffic accidents and the legal and ethical implications of violating traffic rules, as well as responsible loading practices and compliance with weight limits. .
He called on passengers to consider road safety as a shared responsibility and to call drivers to order if they begin to exceed speed or overtake carelessly.
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“This 'ember months' campaign will, among other things, emphasize the importance of road safety for the prevention of accidents due to excess speed.
“We therefore call on passengers, in line with the theme of the year, to consider themselves at higher risk and do not hesitate to call drivers who make mistakes to order,” he said.
He thanked Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State for his support to the FRSC in the execution of its mandate.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state Commissioner for Transport, Benson Agbaso, as well as heads of different security agencies in the state were present at the launch of the campaign.