The Federal Road Safety Corps is intensifying campaign to curb road traffic crashes in the accident-prone areas of Osun State.
The Command on Tuesday took the End of the Year Special Intervention Sensitisation Campaign to Iwaraja Junction.
This is on the Ilesa-Akure highway.
The theme of the campaign was: “Driving Tired is as Dangerous as Driving Drunk: Observe 30 Minutes Rest Period After Every 4 Hours.”
The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Paul John Okpe, said most of the fatal road traffic crashes in the state occurred around Iwaraja Junction.
Okpe said 18 persons lost their lives in 51 crashes at Iwaraja Junction between January and December 2022.
He noted that the Ilesa-Akure Expressway links the Southern and Northern parts of the country and that the road is very important.
The FRSC Acting Corps Marshal, Dauda Ali Biu, who was represented by Charles Edem, advised motorists to always abide by traffic rules and avoid driving when tired.
The FRSC Ilesa Unit Command, O.M. Buraimo, said the road has high traffic volume of vehicles from Legos, Oyo and Ogun States with average flow of 30,000 vehicles per day.
Buraimo said this makes the command prone to high rate of Road Traffic Crash with accompanying loss of lives, various degrees of injuries and damages to properties when traffic rules and regulations were not properly observed.
He said: “Therefore, the enforcement of traffic regulations and robust public enlightenment against traffic infractions like over speeding, overloading, dangerous driving, especially driving against the flow of traffic (one way driving) RTV, were aimed at preventing RTC, especially at this critical period of Ember months.”
The State Coordinator of Special Marshal, Gbenga Aluko, advised drivers to always drive carefully so as to arrive their destination safely and stay alive.
The Awaraja of Iwaraja in Oriade Local Government area of Osun State, Oba Sunday Ishola Ibironke, disclosed that the community performed sacrifices on Ilesa-Akure highway to prevent incessant fatal road crashes.
The monarch said several goats were slaughtered on the road to appease the spirit, but the crashes didn’t stop and commended FRSC for its efforts, which led to drastic reduction in the rate of accident on the highway
The leader of National Union of Road Transport Workers in the area, Joseph Oluwole, said the union will intensify efforts to checkmate members and ensure that they shun any habit that could cause road traffic crashes.