Accidents: FRSC recommends jail terms for erring drivers

The Federal Road Safety Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, has recommended the imposition of jail terms on drivers responsible for road accidents across the country. He made the recommendation yesterday in Abuja while reacting to recent avoidable crashes in Oyo, Kano, and Kaduna states during a press conference on the outcome of the 2024 Easter and […]

The Federal Road Safety Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, has recommended the imposition of jail terms on drivers responsible for road accidents across the country.

He made the recommendation yesterday in Abuja while reacting to recent avoidable crashes in Oyo, Kano, and Kaduna states during a press conference on the outcome of the 2024 Easter and Sallah special patrol operations.

Road crashes at Gaya Junction in Kano and Tashan Yari in Kaduna, led to a total of 18 fatalities, on April 18 and 19, 2024.

Another crash on the Oyo-Ogbomosho route also claimed the lives of 19 passengers on April 14, 2024.

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Speaking on the development, Biu said the FRSC had urged all state governments to prosecute these drivers rigorously for violating road laws.

He stressed the need for stringent penalties, including jail terms without the option of fines, to deter reckless driving.

He said, “We have written to all state governors to help prosecute drivers that are causing road crashes. We have received a letter from the Kaduna State government of its commitment to prosecute these drivers. We hope that other states will follow suit in directing their commissioners of justice or police so that the drivers who indulge or violate road rules are prosecuted.

‘In fact, we are advocating for a jail term without an option of fine so that by the time we have 50 jailed drivers, everyone will take caution. It is a collective effort.”

The Corps Marshal said FRSC was collaborating with the judiciary across all 36 states to expedite the trial of drivers involved in road accidents.

Biu announced a reduction in crashes and fatalities during the 2024 Easter and Eid-el-Fitr compared to 2023.

“During the 2024 Easter Special Patrol period, the Corps recorded a reduction in fatalities as 33 victims were killed in 2024 against 81 killed in the same period in 2023. This represents a 59.3 per cent reduction.

“Similarly, during the Eid-El-Fitr special patrol, while the total number of people killed in 2023 was 59, people killed in the same period in 2024 reduced to 28, signifying a drop of 52.5 per cent,” Biu said.

Meanwhile, the FRSC inter-agency task force has apprehended 222 trailers conveying 3,169 passengers in Niger, Bauchi, Taraba and Kaduna states.

The task force was set up to apprehend trailers convey passengers with goods across the country.

The Corps Marshal said the measure was to mitigate road traffic crashes and attendant deaths and injuries due to the lawlessness of the trailer drivers.