Joseph Bakare
The Federal Road Safety Corps says it recorded 11per cent decrease in deaths from road accident across the country during its 2018 Special Eid-el-Fitri patrol compared to 2017.
In a statement, the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, said 51 deaths were recorded during the period as against 57 deaths in the same period in 2017.
Kazeem, however, stated that 24 per cent increase in road accidents were recorded during the period, riding from 102 in 2017 to 126 this year.
He also disclosed that the number of persons involved in the accidents rose by 27 per cent during the period as 2018 had 839 victims while 662 persons were involved in 2017.
He said: “There was a significant increase in the number of people rescued without injury during the 2018 exercise, which was given a wider coverage than previous years.
“Four hundred and six road traffic crash victims were rescued without injuries during the 2018 Sallah special patrol compared to 293 in 2017, representing a 39-per-cent increase.”
The FRSC spokesman said 7,667 traffic offences were recorded during the celebration as against 7,533 in 2017.
According to him, 6,728 offenders were apprehended in 2018 compared to 6,562 in 2017.
He said that the most prevalent offence during the patrol was Seatbelt Use Violation, with 1,615 offenders arrested compared to 1,462 offenders in 2017.
Speed Limit Device Violation followed with 785 offenders apprehended in 2018 as against 943 in 2017, and Riding a Motorcycle without crash Helmet for which 857 violators were arrested in 2018.