NIGERIA: The GreenLight Initiative (GLI) has called on the Nigerian government to enact and implement a 30km speed limit policy in high risks areas.
According to the organization in a statement made available to Transcontinental Times, it is necessary to enact the speed limit which will stop the high rate of accidents in school zones, streets, and market corridors.
The statement signed by the Executive Director, Simon Patrick Obi, road management agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) needs to start working on how to enact the 30km/h speed limit in the country.
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“As a result of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, people have devised a means to work from home which has decreased their mobility; however the fatality numbers remain as people still drive at higher speeds.
“These calls for an urgent action to ensure people enjoy a safe road travel as well as have a healthy and green city.
” It is for this reason that GreenLight Initiative is calling on road management agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to enact and implement a 30km speed limit policy in high risks areas such as school zones, streets, and market corridors”, the statement read.
Obi said that the 30km/h speed limit campaign is necessary and urgent to save lives saying that ” It is also urgent for the sake of children and youths as research over the years have shown that they are the most vulnerable to road traffic crashes.”
Data on Road Traffic Crashes
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1.35 million people die in road traffic crashes every year.
Excessive speed is at the core of the road traffic injury problem, with 1 in 3 deaths on the roads in high-income countries attributed to speed.
It is estimated that 40-50 per cent of people drive above the speed limit, with every 1 km/h increase in speed resulting in a 4-5 per cent increase in fatal crashes. The risk of death and injury reduces considerably when speeds are lowered.”
Simon stated that to mark the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week 2021 in Nigeria, GreenLight Initiative has partnered with different organization to implement advocacy campaign programs.
He noted that the programmes seek to highlight the benefits of low-speed streets in urban areas and call on policy-makers to limit speeds to 30 km/h on streets where pedestrians, cyclists and others vulnerable road users mix with traffic.
