By Etse Kassim, Abuja
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says no fewer than 51 persons lost their lives in road accidents across the country during the just concluded Sallah celebration.
The 51 deaths recorded was 11 per cent decrease in the number of people killed in road traffic crashes during the same period in 2017.
FRSC, in a statement issued in Abuja by its spokesman, Bisi Kazeem, said 406 road traffic crash victims were, however, rescued without injuries during this year’s Sallah period.
According to the statement, the significant increase in the number of people rescued without injury during the 2018 Sallah was as a result of the FRSC special patrol exercise which was given a wider coverage than previous years.
The statement noted that the total number of crashes in 2018 were 126 compared to 102 in 2017, adding that the number of persons involved in the accidents were 839 compared to 662 in 2017.
On offences committed during the period, the Corps revealed that it recorded 7,667 compared to 7,533 in 2017; and 6728 offenders apprehended in 2018 compared to 6,562 in 2017.
The Corps gave a breakdown of the most prevalent offences to include Seatbelt Use Violation (SUV)-1615, Speed Limit Device Violation (SLD) -785 and Riding a Motorcycle without crash Helmet (RMH)- 857.
It would be recalled that the 2018 Eid-El-Fitri Sallah Special Patrol of the FRSC lasted from Wednesday 13 June 2018 to Monday 18 June 2018.