Road Accidents Kill 400,000 Youths Worldwide, Says Minister

MINISTER of Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi has said that about 400,000 young people die every year around the world in road traffic crashes.

Olasunkanmi spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the flag-off of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Youth Awareness campaign.

Quoting the FRSC accident report 2008, the minister said about 969 children and youths were killed in road accidents in 2008 and over 6,217 were injured in Nigeria.

Drawing statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) Report 2007 entitled: "Youth and Road Accident," Olasunkanmi said victims of road crashes were mainly young people under the age of 25.

Aside the human cost to the nation, the minister said road accidents cost an estimated $518 billion in materials, health and other expenditure globally.

The minister, who was represented by Director, Youth and Education Development in the Ministry, Rabiu Jimeta, identified drug addiction, alcoholism and youthful exuberance as major causes of road mishap among youths.

He called for the inculcation of safe driving culture in the Nigerian youth by relevant government agencies.

The minister tasked the students drawn from 24 primary and secondary schools as well as members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Abuja to be involved in the enlightenment of educationally disadvantaged commercial drivers and motorcycle riders, many of who are young people, in order to reduce carnage on the roads.

Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, FRSC, Osita Chidoka said the programme, tagged Catch Them Young, aims at inculcating the rudiments of safe driving in young Nigerians.

Chidoka, who was represented by the Assistant Corps Marshal in charge of Safety and Engineering Department, Babagana Ibrahim, said the FRSC was currently liaising with the Federal Ministry of Education to design a curriculum for road safety in schools across the nation.

He disclosed that 716 Safety Clubs have been established in both primary and secondary schools nationwide with 23,496 children as members.

The FRSC chief called on the government to provide legal framework and improve road infrastructure to reduce road mishaps, which the WHO said could become the third largest killer of young people by the year 2020.