On Thursday, the Federal Government stated that the rate at which road crashes occur causing deaths is worse than the number of deaths caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV) and deadly tuberculosis combined annually.
Recounting the scores of lives that have been lost especially the lives that were lost in a crash in Kogi on Wednesday, the Federal Government said that many of the losses were caused by avoidable human errors.
Senator Gbemisola Saraki, the Minister of State, Transport, who was represented by Angela Keyede, Assistant Director, Mass Transit in the ministry, during a workshop in Abuja with a theme “Truck Renewal System, Ensuring Road Transport Safety”, was organized by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
“Interestingly, most of these accidents are caused by human factors such as use of cell phones while driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or dangerous substance, disregard for road signage, dangerous driving/overtaking, overspending, overloading and use of trucks that ought to be off the road.
“These crashes can be avoided if drivers are disciplined enough while on the road. It might shock you to know that road crashes are a serious ‘epidemic’ in Nigeria that produces more deaths than HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) put together annually,”
The listed locaions are the proposed locations, they include: Lokoja in Kogi State, Obollo-Afor in Enugu, Illela in Sokoto, Ogere in Ogun, Mararaba in Kaduna, Jibiya in Katsina, Ore in Ondo and Aviele in Edo State.
“Also, in order to lessen the pressure on federal roads, the government is reviving the railway system as well as investing heavily on the light rail system.
“However, the replacement of old sub-standard trucks with modern trucks equipped with safety devices for the transportation of petroleum products is an alternative that must be followed by road transport unions and associations,”
