FRSC records 252 traffic crashes in Edo in 2020 — Sector Commander

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Edo Sector Command, says no fewer than 252 road traffic crashes (RTCs) were recorded in the state in 2020.

Mr Henry Benamaisia, Edo Sector Commander of the corps, disclosed in an interview with the Newsmen in Benin on Tuesday.

Benamaisia said that of the figure 87 were fatal, 130 serious and 37 were minor crashes.

He also disclosed that 179 persons were recorded dead and 608 persons got various degrees of injury within the period under review.

He added that 1,718 persons were involved in the RTCs within the period.

According to the sector commander, this is a four-per-cent increase when compared with the 2019 road traffic crash statistics, which recorded a total number of 242 road crashes.

“Out of the 242 RTCs recorded in 2019, a total of 86 were fatal, 126 serious and 30 minor cases.

“A total of 2,117 persons were involved in road traffic crashes in 2019, while 788 persons were injured and 162 deaths recorded.

“Edo state registered an increase in the number of road traffic crashes in 2020 according to the data collated,” he said.

The major causes of these crashes, he said, were observed to be Speed-related Violations (SPV), Driving under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI), Overloading (OVL) and Route Violation (RTV).

Benamaisia, however, wished the people of Edo a happy New Year and warned motorists to be careful, tolerant and imbibe defensive driving culture always.

He said this would help to reduce road traffic crashes in the state drastically, noting that the behaviour of road users was an important determinant of a country’s road safety performance.