By Amarachi Orjiude and Temitayo Jaiyeola
No fewer than 6,205 persons died in road accidents in 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics have disclosed.
The NBS in its Road Transport Data reports analysed by our correspondents said that on a quarterly basis, road accidents killed a total of 1,668 people in Q1 2021; 1,453 persons in Q2; 1,432 persons in Q3; and 1,652 people in Q4.
The report also revealed that a total of 13,027 road crashes occurred during the year.
In its half-year report, the bureau said that 3,301 road accident cases were recorded in Q1, representing a 0.36 per cent decline from the 3,313 cases recorded in the previous quarter, while 3,185 cases were documented in Q2, showing a 3.51 per cent decrease quarter-on-quarter.
The NBS added that the observed decline showed improvement in road safety during the first six months of 2021.
“In each of the quarters under review, serious cases of road crashes stood top, compared to fatal and minor cases observed, this calls for strengthening of our road safety agencies and medical response team,” the Bureau added.
For Q3 2021, the NBS said the total road crashes recorded was 3,134, indicating a decrease of 1.60 per cent from the 3,185 recorded in Q2.
However, the number of road crashes rose by 8.71 per cent in Q4 2021 when 3,407 cases were recorded.
“Disaggregating crashes into categories shows that serious cases of road crashes in Q3 2021 were higher with 2,008 compared to fatal and minor cases with 723 and 403, respectively.
“Similarly, serious cases stood at 2,199 in Q4 2021 compared to fatal with 888 and minor with 320,” the report read.
A closer look at the data released by the NBS revealed that speed violations was the most frequent cause of road crashes last year.
Speed violations was followed by sign violations which was ranked as the top second factor causing road accidents during the period under review; this was followed by wrongful and dangerous overtaking
By zonal distribution, the North-Central recorded the highest cases of road crashes during the year at 4,056, followed by the South-West region at 3,451.
A breakdown of the figure showed that the North-Central recorded a total of 905 cases of road crashes in Q1, followed by the South-West region at 877.
In terms of casualties in the quarter, the North-West had the most at 3,143, followed by the North-Central region.
Similarly in Q2, the North-Central recorded 1,015 crashes while the South-West region recorded 876. This accounted for 3,006 casualties in the North-Central, the highest recorded.
Meanwhile in Q3, North-Central recorded 1,041 crashes while the South-West region followed with 822.
“In terms of casualties, the North-Central recorded the highest which stood at 2,963, followed by the South-South region with 2,237,” the NBS added.
In Q4, the North-Central recorded 1,095 road crashes and 3,663 casualties. Also, during the quarter, the South-West region recorded 876 road crashes.
The NBS also disclosed that in Q1 2021, 5,193 vehicles were involved in road traffic crashes compared to 5,230 in the preceding quarter.
The number of vehicles involved in accidents fell further to 5,134 in the second quarter of 2021.
The number also decline in Q3 by 3.66 per cent to 4,946 but soared to the highest number recorded in 2021 to 5,323 in Q4.
This brings the total number of vehicles involved in crashes in 2021 to 20,596.
Credit | Punch