Tag: FRSC

An unspecified number of part-time undergraduate students were on Tuesday night feared dead.

They were alleged involved in an accident on the Amasoma-Yenagoa Road, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

The accident reportedly occurred when a bus conveying them to Yenagoa collided with an on-coming car .

There were different versions of the casualty figures after the crash that occured at about 9pm on the eve of Democracy Day.

While some accounts said 15 persons died on the spot, others said only five died.

But the Bayelsa Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Vincent Jack, told our correspondent yesterday that he had dispatched a team to the scene of the accident.

“I do not have the casualty figures yet until my men return from the accident scene”, he said.

He, however, confirmed that the accident was a head-on collision involving a Toyota Hiace bus conveying part-time undergraduate students and a car.

The vehicles, with River State registration numbers KNM141XA and XB269KPR were said to be on high speed when the accident occurred.

One of the eyewitnesses, identified as Fungbe, a 100 level part-time student of the university said a pregnant woman was rescued from the scene.

“A pregnant woman was rescued from the accident unhurt but five persons including a young lady who sat in front died instantly while others were taken to the nearby hospitals”.

Explaining how the accident occurred, he said, “I was directly behind the bus that was going to the school when I noticed the heavy speed the bus was moving on. I told our driver to slow down.

“Within seconds, we saw a trailer that was moving on a snail speed coming towards the vehicle. The other bus was overtaking the trailer before he noticed that a car coming in the opposite direction had no headlamp. This resulted in head-on collision”.

Another eyewitness who refused to mention her name blamed the accident on deplorable condition of the road and appealed to the state government to expedite the ongoing construction of the road.

Some of the casualties and injured passengers were said to have been taken to Glory land hospital, Yenagoa for treatment.

Bayelsa police spokesman Alex Akhigbe and the Public Relations Officer of the Niger Delta University, Mr. Joe Alaqua, said they were not aware that people died in the accident.

But Jack who confirmed the accident promised to make the casualty figures known.

The United Nations (UN) and road safety organisations have urged motorists to cultivate the culture of adhering to zebra crossing signs, to ensure the safety of pedestrians on the roads.

The decision was arrived at, at the weekend when hundreds of Nigerians, including road safety officers, staged a walk on the streets of Lagos to commemorate the UN Global Road Safety Week, with the theme: ‘Make Walking Safe’.

The walk, which began from Omole Phase II through Berger to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) office at Ojodu, was organised by the Temidayo Ogan Child Safety and Support Foundation (TOCSS), a non-government organisation in partnership with the Lagos State Government.

The National Focal Person, UN Decade of Action on Road Safety in Nigeria, Dr. Sydney Ibeanusi, said that pedestrian safety in Nigeria was not being put into consideration by the road users, as most motorists would not wait for pedestrians at the zebra crossing.

He said: “Road users include all of us. The main factor we have identified is non-obedience to the laid-down laws governing road safety. At times, when pedestrians cross the road, they don’t always know what to do.

“Inasmuch as we don’t have enough infrastructure in the country for road safety, we should use the few available ones we have. Also, the road users attitude is very bad, but we are happy that road safety has been inculcated in the school curriculum.”

The Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 2, Lagos and Ogun FRSC, Ademola Lawal, said the safety of pedestrians is in the hands of all.

He urged Nigerians to join in the campaign to ensure that the rights of pedestrians were protected.

He said FRSC had been engaging in series of campaigns and advocacy to ensure that pedestrian safety was guaranteed.

Said he: “The challenge we have is the attitude of road users. Most pedestrians don’t know what to do on the road. We want to intensify our public enlightenment in this regard through jingles on the radio and other means.”

Lawal decried motorists’ attitude to zebra crossing, saying that the FRSC had ensured that before anyone obtained the driver’s licence, such a person must go through prescribed driving schools where he would be taught the need to stop at zebra crossing for pedestrians to cross the road.

“This walk is to create awareness that pedestrian safety is key. We need to make walking safe. All of us are pedestrians, it doesn’t matter whether you drive a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) or not. You still walk on the road at times without your SUV and it becomes important that all of us must ensure that pedestrians are safe,” he added.

As part of activities marking the second United Nations Global Road Safety Week worldwide, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ojota Unit Command, Lagos State, visited Caleb British Academy, Lagos yesterday.

The visit was aimed at enlightening students on pedestrian safety. The theme for this year’s edition is Pedestrian Safety and it is targeted at saving five million lives in line with the Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020.

During an interactive forum at the Academy, FRSC’s Unit Commander LeyeAdegboyega said because of lack of attention to pedestrians’ needs and the tendency to favour private motorised transports, many pedestrians risk death, injury and disability. He added: “Many of those killed are children and older people. Majority of fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries, where rapid motorisation poses additional challenges. Pedestrian safety remains a concern in countries worldwide.”

The Unit Commander, who noted that much was still needed to make the world friendlier by providing safe, reliable and accessible facilities for all pedestrians, posited that there is no single measure to adequately address the range of risks to pedestrians across various settings. The most effective measures, he said, include managing vehicle speeds, separating pedestrians from other traffic by sidewalks and crosswalks; increasing the visibility of pedestrians, and ensuring the responsible behaviour of all road users.

He added that enacting appropriate laws around such measures, enhancing enforcement and ensuring links with other modes of transport can save lives.

Adegboyega noted that the safety of pedestrians will encourage walking which improves health, reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, dementia, depression and obesity.

“In Nigeria, almost 80 per cent of road traffic crashes involving pedestrians are caused by impaired walking, poor visibility and unsafe road crossing. The fact that poor education in this regard is mainly responsible for the non-compliance by pedestrians, accounts for this campaign to create awareness on the issues surrounding pedestrian safety in Nigeria,” he explained.

A safe pedestrian, he said, would always use pedestrian crossings; never assume that an approaching vehicle can stop for him/her; instead, waits until all vehicles have stopped before he/she crosses; at intersections, check for turning vehicles before leaving the kerb, and avoid crossing between parked cars; wear bright clothing in poor visibility conditions; avoid using a mobile phone or portable media player (so he/she can hear vehicles and concentrate).