Eighty-four people died in road traffic crashes in Edo, Delta and Anambra from October to December last year.
Mr Kehinde Adeleye, Zonal Commanding Officer of Zone Rs 5 of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Tuesday.
Zone Rs 5 of the FRSC comprises Edo, Delta and Anambra.
Adeleye said that within the period, 150 road traffic crashes were recorded in the zone with 303 people sustaining various degrees of injuries.
Giving a breakdown, he said that 24 people died in 38 road crashes recorded in October, while 47 people were injured.
“In November, the zone recorded 18 people dead in 41 crashes with 75 people injured, while in December, 42 people were killed in 71 crashes with 181 injured.
“Specifically in Edo, we recorded 37 people dead in 59 crashes with 143 people injured between October and December.”
The commander said the trend showed that the `ember’ months recorded higher road traffic crashes with fatalities.
He noted, however, that “Operation Zero Tolerance” embarked upon by the commission had helped greatly in reducing crashes during the `ember’ period.
Adeleye disclosed that the major challenge faced by the FRSC in the zone was a lack of tow trucks, saying that there were only four tow trucks in the zone.
“We have only four tow trucks – one big tow truck donated by the Delta State Government and three other small ones.
“The Anambra State Government has promised to buy us one and we appeal to the Edo State Government to do same because it’s a major challenge to us.
“With the availability of heavy-duty tow trucks, broken down vehicles on the roads would be evacuated speedily without them causing obstruction to vehicular movements and accidents.”
The zonal commanding officer warned travellers against embarking on night journeys, describing such trips as risky in every sense.
He noted that vehicles could break down at dangerous places without help and that crashes could occur without anyone to call for assistance.
Adeleye said that motorists often drove at a higher speed at night, explaining that these were some of the reasons why people were advised against night trips.
He said that FRSC commands in the zone had been mandated to ensure that broken down vehicles on highways were removed within the shortest possible time.
Adeleye warned parents against allowing their under-aged children to drive, saying that such parents would be prosecuted.
(NAN)
