Road safety stakeholders in Abuja have called for downward review of current speed limit from 50km/hour to 30km/hour in cities and areas where pedestrians and cyclist mix with traffic.
The call which was made during the launch of the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week in the nation’s capital aligns with the theme for this year’s commemoration; “Managing speed” with slogan “Street for Life” and hashtag (#love 30).
Addressing journalists and stakeholders at the the event, the Permanent Secretary, General Service Office, Dr Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri expressed concern over the increasing rate of fatalities and disabilities from road traffic accidents in Nigeria. He called for urgent intervention from the government, policymakers, law enforcement agencies and road users at large.
He said that “a holistic approach in road safety management is needful to reduce the numbers of fatalities on the Nigeria road. Road traffic injuries are the 8th leading cause of death worldwide and is now the number one cause of death among children and young adults aged 5-29 years old.”
Also, the Minister for State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora explained that with the daily rise in car crashes, it has become important for severe measures to be taken to reduce the ugly trend.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) will be launching a National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) to enable Nigerians call for help in emergency situations as road traffic accidents.
In his words, “the aim is to reduce the number of deaths caused by the delay in access to healthcare services. This will provide prompt and efficient emergency medical services to the people, not just for road traffic accidents, but services will involve prompt response to medical distress calls of all types with first responders, transfer to facilities, (and) assured first aid at the point of care at no immediate user cost,” he added.
Also speaking was the minister of state for Transportation, Ms Gbemisola Saraki who in her address said the objectives of the week is to solicit commitment at national, state and local level across all sectors to advocate for the implementation of speed limits in urban areas to 30 km/h.
The Road Safety Week has been set aside by the UN in the month of May to raise awareness on the need to act responsibly on the road and this year’s event was organised by the federal government in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and related agencies.
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