According to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), witches are not to blame for road traffic accidents in Nigeria, but rather for the carelessness of road users.
According to NAN, SC Istifanus Ibrahim, Sector Commander of the FRSC’s Cross River Sector Command, made the announcement during the launch of the 2023 Ember Month Safety Campaign.
The campaign’s theme for 2023 was “Speed thrills but kills; drive responsibly and avoid overloading.”
According to Ibrahim, the last four months of the year saw greater vehicular and socioeconomic activity, thus commercial drivers responded by trying to make more money.
He said the Ember months were like every other month of the year but road traffic crashes increased during the period due to the tendency of motorists to drive at excessive speed while neglecting regulations.
“I wish also to use this opportunity to disabuse our minds of the beliefs that evil spirits are responsible for the increased crashes during this period of the year.
“This is unscientific as human, mechanical and environmental factors cause crashes.
“Therefore, the essence of the Ember months campaign is to complement other mechanisms that have been deployed to stamp out overloading, speed and other attitudes that can hinder our goal of five per cent reduction of road traffic deaths and injuries,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Bassey Otu, who flagged off the campaign, said speed was often exhilarating, but it came with a significant risk when it was not managed responsibly.
Represented by Mr Elvert Ayambem, Speaker of the Cross River House of Assembly, Otu said every time people stepped behind the wheels, they held their safety, that of their passengers, and others on the road.
According to him, the roads are a shared space, and our actions while driving impact everyone around us, so to prevent accidents, it is essential to drive responsibly, obey speed limits, and avoid overloading vehicles.
“The thrill of speed should always be balanced with the responsibility of ensuring safety on the road; let us all do our part to make our roads safer for everyone,” he said
