At least 143 people have been killed in road traffic accidents in Edo, Anambra and Delta states between January and March.
The Zonal Commanding Officer in charge of the Federal Road Safety Corps Zone 5, Mr Ayodele Kumapayi, disclosed this on Tuesday.
He the figure represented a 28.80 percent increase compared with the 111 people killed in road traffic crashes across the zone within the same period last year.
The commander also said that 1,456 people were involved in the crashes within the period under review, against the 1,407 involved within the same period last year, which represented 3.40 per cent increase in the number involved in the RTCs in the zone.
Kumapayi said. “I must say that not less than 143 lives were lost in various road traffic crashes across the zone between January and March this year. Also during the same period, 489 people out of those involved in the RTCs were injured, whereas, within the same period last year, 464 people were injured. This is a 5.30 per cent increase comparatively.
“However, there was a 3.50 per cent decrease in number of road accidents recorded in the zone within the period under review, as 193 RTCs were recorded against the 200 recorded within the same period last year.
“We also had a decrease in serious cases recorded as 79 serious cases were recorded against 122 recorded within the same period in the previous year, and this is a 35.20 per cent decrease,” he said.
The commander also said 63 of the crashes recorded were fatal, and represents a 38.70 per cent increase compared with the 49 recorded in the first quarter of 2021. However, minor cases recorded was 29 and we had the same figure last year too,” he said.
He said 13,474 traffic offenders were arrested for various traffic offences in the zone within the period under review, compared with the 8,912 offenders recorded within the same period in the previous year.
