18th January, 2018
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger said that no fewer than 204 persons were killed in road accidents in the state in 2017 as against 233 in 2016.
The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr Yusuf Garba, disclosed this in an interview on Thursday in Minna.
“Two hundred and thirty three persons were killed in road accidents in 2016, while 204 were killed in 2017, that indicates a reduction in fatality rate, which is one of the strategic goals the FRSC had adopted in preventing road accidents across our state,“ he said.
Garba said that 652 vehicles were involved in various road accidents in 2017 as against 777 vehicles in 2016.
He further said that 1,024 people were involved in the accidents out of which 830 were rescued and taken to hospitals for minor treatments as against 708 rescued in 2016.
He attributed major causes of road accidents to overloading, wrong overtaking, speeding, use of second hand tyres and reckless driving.
The sector commander urged motorists to always abide by traffic rules and regulations, as well as desist from using worn-out tyres as part of measures to avert accidents on the highways.
“We have reached out to traditional and religious leaders to mobilise roads users on the need to obey traffic rules and regulations,” he said.