The Acting Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dauda Ali Biu, has cautioned drivers against violating prescribed speed limit, just as he admonished them to avoid night trips.
The Corps Marshal also advised the drivers to always observe rest period of 30 minutes after every 4 hours drive, to avoid the dangers of excessive speed and fatigue on the highways.
The admonition followed the fatal crash which occurred on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, at about 6:30am along the Kwali-Abaji expressway, within the Federal Capital Territory, in which 17 passengers died and four injured.
FRSC’s Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, an Assistant Corps Marshal, said in a statement that investigation into the fatal crash revealed that it involved a DAF truck with registration number BAU 632 XA, and a Toyota bus with registration number GME 201 ZU.
Involved in the crash were 22 occupants, out of which 17 victims, all males, were killed while four others, also males, were rescued alive but various degrees of injuries.
The remaining one occupant was rescued without any injury.
Kazeem said in the statement that the main cause of the crash, according to reports, were excessive speed and fatigue.
As at the time the statement was issued, the FRSC emergency rescue team had conveyed the injured victims to Abaji General Hospital for immediate medical attention, while the remains of the dead victims were deposited at the mortuary.
The Acting Corps Marshal maintained that drivers must avoid speeding, as crash investigation conducted over the years had attributed major causes of crashes in Nigeria to excessive violation of legal speed limit on all roads.
He said that the fatigue was as a result of the driver’s indulgence in a night-long trip without observing adequate rest within the driving period.
According to him, it was this and many other factors that necessitated the directive given by the Federal Government for the Corps to commence sensitisation and, subsequently, enforcement on compulsory installation of speed limiting device.
While warning violators to desist from compromising road traffic regulations, he assured the public that the FRSC would step up formidable operational activities that would bring the menace to an end.
He urged members of the public to always patronize the FRSC toll free line 122 and the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM which are always available for all road users to report emergencies at any given time.
