Key Points
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The FRSC Q3 traffic violations report highlights widespread noncompliance.
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Safety groups say the FRSC Q3 traffic violations report shows deep systemic issues.
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Officials warn the FRSC Q3 traffic violations report signals growing highway hazards.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has caught more than 27,000 drivers in Nigeria in the third quarter of 2024. This is one of the agency’s most aggressive enforcement cycles in recent years. The arrests, which took place on major highways and busy intra-state corridors, show what officials say is a growing lack of respect for safety laws at a time when more people are using the roads.
Corps Marshal Dauda Ali Biu said that the numbers show that driving habits are getting worse all over the country. He pointed out that speeding, driving unsafe vehicles, overloading, not wearing seatbelts, and drunk driving were the most common offences. He says that the trend shows a deeper change in behaviour that could put the country’s broader road safety goals at risk. “The level of disregard for safety rules is still scary,” he said, adding that enforcement will get even tougher as the year comes to an end.
High-Risk Corridors Have Scary Patterns of Violations
FRSC patrol teams on the Lagos–Ibadan, Abuja–Kaduna, Onitsha–Owerri, and Port Harcourt–Aba highways reported a sharp rise in dangerous driving patterns. This led to the use of more monitoring tools.
The corps put out more speed guns, body cameras, and automatic plate-recognition systems to catch people breaking the law in real time. According to Assistant Corps Marshal Shehu Zaki, who is in charge of operations, these tools helped officers deal with violations more quickly and helped mobile courts, which handled hundreds of cases during the quarter.
Zaki said that a lot of the drivers who were arrested had to go through mandatory safety education programs, while others had their licenses suspended. He also said that some commercial fleets showed up on violation records more than once, which suggests that transport companies still have systemic problems that make the problem worse.
Experts say that systems are weak and that a high-risk season is coming up
Dr. Sydney Iroegbu, a researcher on road safety, said that the Q3 numbers show that the national system is still having trouble with problems like vehicle inspection failures, inconsistent fleet maintenance, and poor visibility on major routes at night. He said that a lot of state-run inspection centres don’t have the latest tools, which lets unsafe cars get through. Transportation engineer Engr. Ademola Lawal said that bad road conditions, especially on federal highways that are being repaired for a long time, are making things more dangerous and making drivers act strangely.
As the end of the year travel season approaches (historically the most dangerous time for Nigerian road users), the FRSC is getting ready for more traffic. Biu said that the corps will step up its annual Operation Zero Tolerance program by sending out more patrol units and working more closely with state traffic agencies.
He told transport unions, fleet operators, and local governments to work closely with the corps and said that “road safety cannot be the FRSC’s burden alone.”
