It is depressing that on the average, 150 Nigerians are killed daily on our roads by motor vehicles on excessive speed. The Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, revealed this at the Third Quarter 2016 Stakeholders/Fleet Operators’ meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The meeting was held to finalise the plan for the introduction of “speed limit” devices which the agency wants installed in all commercial vehicles by October 1st  – a last ditch effort to reduce deaths on our roads.
Oyeyemi emphasised that the daily crashes and the resultant deaths are caused in the main, by over-speeding, more than any other factor.  Bad roads, he noted, are a secondary factor. He, therefore, urged drivers to acquire the speed limit devices. He said that  vehicles which already have them would now be re-calibrated to Nigeria’s speed specifications.
What to do about over-speeding by Nigerian drivers is an old and thorny question. That most Nigerians who die in road accidents are killed due to excessive speeding has been proved again and again.  On this point, there is unanimity. There is no denying the existence of other causes like our perennially ill-maintained roads, bad driving habits, alcoholism and sundry reasons which lead to the numerous accidents every day.  By far, over-speeding remains at the root of an overwhelming number of fatal road accidents. The FRSC said that most of the fatal accidents which made national headlines are traceable to over-speeding.  For example, on March 6, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, his wife, and son were killed in an accident caused by “over-speeding by the driver.”  On April 24, six medical doctors and their driver on their way to attend the Nigerian Medical Association’s annual general meeting in Sokoto, perished when a rear tyre burst while the vehicle was over-speeding.  Three months ago, no less than 142 Nigerians were killed in road accidents in just 15 days.  Of 193 countries in the world, Nigeria is rated the second highest in road accidents.  We are rated as 129 out of 189 on the global index for death resulting from road accidents.  The country recorded a total of 6,052 deaths in 2010, 6092 in 2012, 6450 in 2013.  By November 2014, 4,643 had already been killed.
The decision to use the speed-limiting device was the consensus of all the stakeholders and experts in the field, including the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the FRSC, Vehicles Inspection Officers of the Federal Ministry of Works, the National Union of Road Transport Workers. They also agreed that over-speeding is the principal killer on our roads.  There is a consensus that a driver moving at the rate of 90 kilometers per hour is most likely to control his vehicle in the case of an accident.  No such assurance can be made for a driver moving beyond 100 kilometers per hour.
We accept the FRSC’s declaration that it does not wish to use the speed limit device as a money-making venture for the agency.  Its recent forays into charges for number plates did not help its reputation.  The Corps seems to have lost some of its shine, and signs of neglect are beginning to show not only in the physical appearance of members but in their attitude to work, a sign that morale might be an issue.  We urge the Federal Government to fund the FRSC adequately, to restore its pride and underscore the importance of its national assignment which is to save lives on the roads.
We believe that the first step to safe-driving is the granting of driver’s licence to those adjudged proficient through testing.  We observe with regret that the process is riddled with delays, long waiting hours and months which can encourage sharp practices.   We support the introduction of the speed limit device. No doubt, it will drastically reduce the rate of accidents on our roads.

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