The Federal Road Safety Corps has said the inauguration of the light rail system has reduced the number of car accidents as well as traffic in the country.

The Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi said this on Thursday at a press briefing on the enforcement of speed limiting device in commercial vehicles.

Oyeyemi said a functional railway system will further help in reducing road accidents in the country and help the corps achieve its goals of reducing road crashes.

He said, “I commend the government for reviving the rail transport in the country. Since the inauguration of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, road traffic crashes has reduced along that corridor, as well as the usually dense traffic on that road.

“If the rail transport and other inter-modal system are introduced in other parts of the country, it would help the FRSC to achieve its desired objectives of reducing road traffic crashes and fatalities.”

Oyeyemi also said October 1 is the deadline for the installation of speed limiting device in commercial vehicles.

He explained that the agency had succeeded in reducing road traffic crashes between January and August 2016.

“From January to August, 2015, a total of 5,953 crashes were recorded involving 39,119 people in which 3,233 of them died and 17,189 others were rescued alive. Comparatively, within the same period in 2016, a total of 5,707 crashes were recorded involving 38,222 people out of which 3,048 died and 17,446 others were rescued alive,” he said.

Azeez