30% Of Road Accidents Caused By Mobile PhonesLawmaker

About 30 per cent of road crashes in Nigeria, out of which about 25 per cent of the victims die, are caused by the use of mobile phones while driving, a member of the House of Representatives representing Lagos Mainland, AbdulRaheem Olajide Jimoh has said.This is even as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) attributed most road crashes in the country to the use of cell phones while driving.Former Sector Commander of the corps in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Musa Yerima, identified use of cell phones as a major cause of most road accidents.Also, according to figures by the FRSC, 10,050 people die yearly in road accidents. Statistically, this means that there are 27 deaths on Nigerian roads daily and this excludes hundreds of victims who suffer various degrees of injuries and permanent disabilities from such road carnages. Other causes of road crashes are over speeding, brake failure and bad weather.In an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Jimoh said he was concerned about the lives of Nigerians that are lost on a daily basis due to this bad attitude of driving.He said, I have moved motion on the menace of use of mobile phones while driving on the floor of the House. Life is so precious to us and we hv to be concerned with the lives of Nigerians therefore making use of mobile phone while driving is deadlyThe lawmaker who noted that drivers must be psychologically balance while driving insisted that all forms of distractions must be avoided.He insisted that among other forms of dangerous traffic violations such as over-speeding, use of drugs, alcohol and overloading, the use of mobile phones while driving is the mother of all forms of dangerous traffic violations and its attendant consequences of loss of life.Despite the recent FRSC report that the loss of life caused by distracted drivers owning to use of mobile phones while driving was far greater than the number of Nigerians that die from diseases such as cancer and diabetes, Jimoh said he was convinced that curtailing this act goes beyond the current efforts of the FRSC.The lawmaker reiterated the Green Chambers resolved to call federal government to declare a state of emergency in the transport system, while focusing on the motorist in a bid to find lasting solutions to the menace.He said, The House has also directed the House Committee on Land Transport to organize public hearing on the menace of use of mobile phones while driving to highlight the magnitude of the problem with a view to find lasting solutions. We also encourage the FRSC and other relevant agencies to partner with the media, both electronic and print in a collaborative manner so as to sensitise Nigerians on the danger of using mobile phones while driving partner with various NGOs to address and minimize the habit.
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