The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)’s Corps Marshal, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi said the commission has commenced road safety audit and accident investigation on the Akwanga-Lafia highway.
Oyeyemi, who spoke in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the audit was to methodically examine the road. He said that as the lead agency in road safety management and traffic administration in the country, it was part of the corps’ statutory responsibility to play an advisory role to the government on safety on roads.
He explained that one such advisory roles were achieved through the instrumentality of road audit.
“The topography of the Akwanga-Lafia highway is what is causing the crashes. Most of the crashes occur at slopes,” he said.
He explained that road audit was a careful, complete and methodical examination and review of roads to identify areas that needed the government’s attention for possible solutions.
“This is targeted at identifying infrastructural deficiencies for necessary recommendations to the Federal Government for actions that will help secure the safety of lives and property of all road users.
“The corps in its structural set up has to itself an office with trained and certified engineers that are solely responsible for systematically studying and reviewing the highways. This is with a particular interest in identifying black spots, crash-prone areas and locations that need road infrastructure like road signs and markings, spots with potholes among others.”
He explained that these variables would then be further analysed and necessary recommendations forwarded to agencies including the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for necessary actions.
The corps marshal, however, said that he would not want to pre-empt the outcome of the road safety audit being done, adding that some efforts were going on at the Federal Ministry of Works in this area.
“So when we finish, we will submit the report and we will let you know what we have recommended as we have always been doing on the road safety audit and accident investigation.”