The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Malam Shehu Mohammed, has called for collective urgent action to prevent Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs).
Mohammed made the call at a joint press briefing commemorating the 2024 World Day of Remembrance for RTCs victims on Monday in Abuja.
He highlighted the alarming statistic that showed that 1.19 million people lose their lives annually in RTCs world wide
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Day of Remembrance of RTCs victims was initiated by Road Peace in 1993 and adopted by the United Nations in 2005.
NAN reports that the theme of year 2024 World Remembrance Day of accident victims is, “That Day”.
The FRSC boss said that road safety had evolved to become a global public health issue, adding that the aim of the event was to honour victims of RTCs, and advocate for better support.
He said that in spite of advancements in human civilisation, Road Traffic Deaths (RTDs) remained high, with middle- and low-income countries accounting for over 90 per cent of these deaths .
“It is indeed sad that in spite of the remarkable advancement in human civilisation, the global status report shows that the number of road traffic deaths just fell slightly to 1.19 million.
“The price paid for mobility remains too high, and thus urgent action is needed if the goal of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 is to be achieved,”he said.
According to Mohammed, the communication campaign for 2024 event tells the stories of ‘That Day’ when traffic collisions stopped or changed the course of the victim’s lives forever.
He said that each victim had her or his own story of that day, which their relatives, friends and acquaintances carried in their memories forever.
The FRSC boss said, “therefore, on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024, we remember the stories of “that day”.
Mohammed outlined the objectives of the 2024 World Day of Remembrance, including remembering those killed or injured.
“Others include; to acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services; draw attention to the generally trivial legal response to culpable road deaths and injuries and advocate for an appropriately serious response;
“To advocate for better support for road traffic victims and victim families; and promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries among others.
“We at FRSC in collaboration with the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention, Nigeria (UNDARSTIP), have dedicated a whole week with series of intervention strategies and eventful programmes.
“This is to highlight issues of road safety, loss of precious lives and economic destructions that people suffer as a result of traffic crashes.
“This programme has been carefully planned to showcase events that will generate consciousness on road safety among members of the public, particularly the motorists on preventive measures,”he said.
Mohammed said that the consensus among people of the world on issues of road safety was a welcome development, as humanity was being put at risk due to pervasive road mishaps that were witnessed daily.
“According to the World Health Organisation’s reports, greater numbers of people are being disabled for life on world roads.
“This is through avoidable road traffic crashes in the face of increasing motorisation and vast civilisation and development.
“There is therefore, the urgent need to address the menace through appropriate measures
“It is our hope that through collective efforts, we would be able to change people’s attitudes to road usage and the hazard that victims of road traffic crashes go through, having at the back of our mind the story of ‘That Day,” he said.
