Road Accident claim197 persons in Bauchi

No fewer than 197 persons have been killed in 286 road accidents that occurred in Bauchi State between January and December 2013. The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Bauchi State, Mr. Sunday Henry Olatunji, disclosed this yesterday during a special operation tagged “Sauka Lafiya”, meaning Safe Journey.
The special operation according to the sector commander commenced from December 19, 2013 to end January 2, 2014.
Olatrunji said that the commission recorded 1,203 casualties out of 286 auto crashes in the year under review.
The FRSC sector commander said a total of 197 persons were killed while 1006 were injured during the outgoing year.
“The special operation was an initiative of the commission to ensure safety of lives during the festive season and arrest drivers who commit traffic offences,” he said.
He said that such offences include over speeding, overloading, use of mobile phones while driving and invalid driving documents.
“The commission embarks on such special operations several times in a year to instill the culture of safety in drivers and passengers,” he added.
Olatunji disclosed that 34,000 officers were deployed nationwide to minimise the rate of crashes during the yuletide season.
He said that 350 officers including marshals were equally deployed to all the FRSC commands in the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State to curb traffic offences.
He therefore cautioned commercial drivers who were conscious of making profits during the festive seasons to consider the safety of their passengers.
He warned that the command would arrest and charge to court any driver who violates traffic rules and regulations.