Road Accidents: Lawmakers Ask FG To Set Up Mobile Clinics On Highway

House members have urged the federal government to set up and adequately equip mobile emergency clinics for road accident victims on federal highways across the country.

The lawmakers also urged the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, as well as state emergency management agencies, to ensure that accident victims receive prompt medical care.

The resolutions followed the plenary’s Wednesday adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Mallam Bukar Gana.

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Moving the motion, Gana stated that while road traffic accidents have become a global public health concern, the government is not paying enough attention to them in terms of public health education and strategic policies to achieve long-term control.

He claims that Nigeria has only 47 traffic accident clinics, 15 of which are furnished but non-functional, 14 of which are not furnished and non-functional, and only 18 of which are furnished and functional.

According to a report by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there were 11,363 accidents in 2016, with a total of 30,105 injured victims, of whom 28,250 were adults, 1,855 were children, and 5,053 died.

He expressed concern that the poor state of major highways, as well as reckless driving caused by excessive speeding, intoxication, and complete disregard for traffic rules by commuters, have contributed to an increase in the number of road accidents, and that the country requires functional clinics to prevent needless deaths.

“Also notes that, while some accidents are unavoidable, much can be done to reduce fatalities by establishing functional road traffic clinics across the federation,” Gana said. Recognizing that the federal government has a constitutional obligation to protect citizens’ lives and property by providing security and essential amenities, and that Section 10(3)(q) of the Federal Road Safety Commission Act authorizes the Federal Road Safety Commission to provide free treatment to road accident victims across the country,

“Also aware that the FRSC was established to, among other things, rescue road accident victims from the crash site, administer first aid, and run road accident clinics to treat minor accident cases and stabilize critical victims before transferring them to the nearest hospitals.” Worried that the number of available roadside clinics is grossly insufficient to meet the medical needs of commuters, and that those that are operational are poorly managed, resulting in commuters dying needlessly due to a lack of immediate medical attention.”

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The lawmakers mandated the Committee on Federal Road Safety Commission to ensure compliance after passing the motion.