Mr Shehu Mohammed, the Zonal Commanding Officer (ZCO) Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in charge of FCT and Niger, has said that 80 per cent of Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) across the 36 states including the FCT are caused by human errors.
Mohammed, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, said that human, mechanical and the environment were the leading causes of RTCs in the country.
He also said that illicit drugs and alcohol abuse, poor vision and over-speeding were also among factors that causes road accidents in the nation.
According to Mohammed, the human error contributes to almost 80 per cent of RTCs because it is the human that normally control the mechanical.
“We as human, we contribute to a lot of crashes on the roads, especially during the Ember months where many drivers try to double their efforts to meet up with the year’s demand.
“About 80 per cent of road crashes are caused by human errors because most of the crashes are avoidable and preventable,“ he said.
According to him, for instance, a driver that will start driving from Kano coming through Abuja axis down to the south without a rest is definitely inviting a crash.
“You can imagine the kind of fatigue, and then he get tired and want to sleep, and again maybe the vehicle is already overloaded.
“This could cause pressure on the mechanical system of the vehicle which is also a factor contributing to RTCs,” he said.
“So, I think those are the things that normally contributes to this kind of increase in road traffic crashes especially at night,“ he said.
Mohammed said that poor vehicle maintenance was also a human error, adding that the driver or the owner of the vehicle were expected to maintain the vehicle regularly and periodically for good function of the vehicle.
He said: “However, I think what is happening now at the raining season is what is causing the increase in the traffic crashes.
“You will agree with me that the low visibility during rain fall, the slippery road, and then people not been able to see far may likely contribute to some of the causes of the increase in the RTCs,” he said.
Mohammed urged motorists to pay more attention to highway signs, adding that drivers should adopt defensive driving techniques by scanning through the roads and consider other road users to prevent crashes.
The FRSC boss reiterated the corps corporate strategic role for the year 2022 as to reduce the road crashes and attendant fatality by two per cent.
(NAN)