2022: My Agenda

ROAD SAFETY ARTICLE BY Jonas Agwu

It was in 2014, that it became a ritual of sorts for me to set an agenda immediately after crossing over to a new year to guide the motoring public. My annual ritual is also a reminder to stakeholders on what should be a priority in keeping with the fallout of the previous year. Since this ritual began, I do not know how consistent I have been. I do not also know if stakeholders or my readers even take me seriously. For the motoring public, I don’t know their take; maybe they see my agenda as one of those rituals called New Year resolutions that are rarely kept except with the divine help of the Almighty God.

Whatever the rating is, I am committed to setting the agenda perhaps as a reminder of my duty to my readers and to stakeholders who share similar worry on the trend of crashes recorded despite the numerous efforts and strategies of the Federal Road Safety Corps. As we still bask in the euphoria of crossing over to 2022, we must individually pause to ponder over people whose dreams and aspirations fizzled away like vapor through what some of us refer to as ‘’just a simple or minor error’’ borne out of bad driving mannerisms built over time. We must therefore think and remember that despite all the novelties necessary for safe driving; the greatest tool is responsible driving which, like we often say in the Corps, starts with you.

Before I dwell on responsible driving as a personal charge to all road users as the foundation for a safer road experience, please allow me to share with you the bigger picture which is the corporate goals of the Federal Road Safety Corps for 2022. But before I do this, I need to first whet your appetite with how far we fared in 2021 in Zone7, Abuja comprising the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State which is under my watch. Within the year 2021, there were a total of 1509 road traffic crashes which resulted in 503 deaths while a total number of 3363 serious injuries were sustained.

The causative factors responsible for these road traffic crashes were speeding/loss of control, wrongful overtaking, as well as dangerous driving among others. The critical corridors or accident prone routes where these crashes occurred were Mokwa-Jeba, Lambata-Suleja, Tafa-Jere, Kutigi-Mokwa, Abuja-Airport, Yangoji-Abaji, Giri-Zuba, Kubwa express among others. What this reveals is that speed still topped the number one spot as the most critical causative factor behind road traffic crashes.

So what is the bigger picture which would guide the Corps in its renewed drive to checkmate rising cases of avoidable road crashes in 2022.There are three strategic goals which the Corps has rolled out. I will highlight them not necessarily in the order they are listed but in the order of my own priorities based on some of the strategies that guided us in my Zone in 2021.Critical to us in my Zone in 2021 was stakeholders’ engagement in keeping with the thrust of the leadership of the Corps which we anchored on our innovative stakeholder meetings’ with Lifeline Care Association backed by all the vital stakeholders in the Federal Capital Territory.

This is why I am excited with the goal which seeks to enhance partnership in keeping with the United Nations Global Plan of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 especially on post-crash response. Post-crash response like I told you earlier was the focus of our stakeholders engagement with Lifeline Care Association which we hope will be escalated to a higher dimension this year.

Meanwhile, I hope you still remember that the Corps was set up specifically to cut down road traffic rashes and this goal specifically addresses this statutory mandate which seeks to accomplish fifteen percent reduction in road traffic crash fatality. Please let me not bore you with all the theatrics behind this aspirations but to inform you that to achieve this target, our radar will focus on redressing speed -excess and inappropriate which you will recall I identified as one of the core critical causative factors responsible for crashes that occurred within my Zone in 2021.

Others include driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, riding a motorcycle without helmet, distracted driving-use of phone while driving as well as seatbelt and child restraints. Meanwhile, the third goal seeks to consolidate on the road traffic data system for improved road safety policy formulation.The focus is to enhance the Corps data systems from collection, collation, dissemination, analysis and reporting.

As the 2022 journey begins and in keeping with the FRSC focus for 2022, speed control is a key intervention. The reason for this as stated earlier is that over the years speed related crashes, dangerous driving and loss of control account for a greater proportion of recorded road traffic crashes. This explains why the Federal Road Safety Corps throughout the years has engaged its various stakeholders on the need for a successful implementation which should see crashes pummeling down by a significant percentage.

Since the campaign commenced, I have been too excited despite hiccups encountered. Till date the record in my Zone reveals that in the year 2019 a total of 5103 arrests were made while a total of 9846 were stopped and a total of 1110were cautioned as part of strategies to enhance compliance by commercial drivers. Within this same period, a total of 6213 vehicles were without speed limiting devices as against 3,633 vehicles that were with the device. The record shows that 3633 vehicles had the device installed).