He added that 1,204 road crashes occurred in the affected states during the period under review as against 973 in 2011.
Disclosing that over 2,635 persons were injured in the crashes involving 1,478 vehicles, he said: “In 2011, we recorded 526 deaths, 3,120 cases of injured persons with 2,040 vehicles involved in the crashes.”
Edo State, he said, recorded the highest number of fatality in both 2011 and 2012 with 510 road accidents in 2011 with 289 deaths, attributing the figures to its vantage position as a transit state to other states of the country.
Olaniran also identified Ore-Benin Road, particularly at Ovia River, near Benin, as one of the worst flash points, which accounted for 114 road crashes of the 510 cases captured in 2012 in the zone with 60 deaths, 395 injured persons and 205 vehicles involved.
He attributed overloading, overspending, burst tyres, dangerous driving and loss of control arising from fatigue, as some of the factors that accounted for the high number of crashes in the zone.
