29-30 November 2018, Abuja, Nigeria - UNITAR in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria hosted the third Road Safety Multi-Stakeholder Conference, bringing together 94 local and international experts to discuss solutions and share best practices and learnings on road safety legislation and regulation that will help address the issues of road safety in Nigeria. 

The world’s most populous countries account for almost 4.2 billion people and 56% of the world’s road traffic deaths, one of these countries being Nigeria. There are 5,791,446 registered cars on the road in Nigeria and in 2013 the WHO estimated that around 35,641 lives were lost due to weak road safety laws on risk factors such as speed, drink-driving, seat-belts and child restraints. 

Recognizing the need to advance road safety in Nigeria, UNITAR in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) of Nigeria, more than 10 agencies involved in road safety and Diageo will collaborate to conduct major road safety trainings and campaigns to reduce traffic death and injuries on Nigeria and other African countries.

In the framework of the conference, it was launched a long-term High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) campaign. The HVE approach has been proven to effectively reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities in countries like Mexico, where similar interventions have resulted in a 40% reduction.

The objectives of the campaign are to increase awareness and knowledge among drivers of drink driving as a risk factor in road safety, implement high visibility enforcement campaigns on drink drive and ultimately, help to reduce alcohol-related fatalities. In partnership, UNITAR, the Federal Road Safety Corps and Diageo will train law enforcers to deliver random breath testing and provide the equipment required to support the high visibility enforcement, whilst raising public awareness through media engagement.

Photo 1: Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission jointly with UNITAR and Diageo representatives announcing the Launch of High Visibility Enforcement Campaign in Nigeria.

Photo 2: Official from the Federal Road Safety Corps conducting breathalyzer test.