Onyebuchi Ezigbo
9 November 2009
Abuja — The Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development is partnering a road traffic prevention consultancy group, Risk and Accident Prevention Society of Nigeria (RAPSON), to implement a new road accident prevention initiative estimated to cost N25billion.
Chairman of RAPSON, Mr. Koko Odohofre, who spoke to THISDAY yesterday concerning the commencement of project, said part of the measures to be implemented include installation of traffic camera of the roads to help track down road traffic offenders.
Odohofre said the programme which has been on the drawing board for the past five years, is to be funded with a grant from the Global Road Safety Fund and drawn through the World Bank.
According to him, the decision to come up with the National Accident Prevention Programme was as a result of general public out-cry and the concern by the Federal Government over the spate of fatal road accidents on the nation's highways which claimed thousands of human lives.
He said the traffic cameras, when installed, will make it possible for speed limit offenders and other related offences to be tracked with ease and precision without the usual physical confrontation that has been the bane of road traffic regulation and enforcement in the country.
Other aspects of the programme include mounting of a mandatory eye-vision testing exercise, driving test as well as nationwide public awareness campaign to reawaken public awarenes on the need to imbibe road road safety regulations.
The Director in the Ministry,Mr. Lawal Audi, who represented the Minister at the formal launch of the initiative in Abuja described the programme as part of the holistic measure that would involve all stakeholders in the road traffic sector in an effort to reduce road mishaps in the country.
According to him, the programme would be implemented at the the national, geo-political zones, 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) as well as the 774 local government areas of the country.
He said the objective of the National Accident Prevention programme is to complement the roles of other existing agencies by applying a holitic and scientific method with the collaboration of all stakeholder.
"The need for the adherence to the road traffic rules and regulations yo minimise and prevent road accident in the country cannot be over emphasised. It could be noted with dismay that even the dreaded HIV and AIDS do not kill people at such a high rates", he said.
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