By Yemie Adeoye
As part of efforts to reduce the loss of lives on Nigerian roads, the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, has promised to support the Federal Road Safety Corp, FRSC, in fighting the unending menace of road accidents.

Speaking at a training programme organised for the FRSC, the Nigeria Police as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, on road safety and risk management, last week, the Managing Director and Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, said Shell is committed to supporting the implementation of the United Nation’s Decade Action for Road Safety Action Plan in Nigeria.

He said that such support will be done through other initiatives, such as its Child Road Safety Education programme.

Sunmonu, said that road safety is one of his company’s focus areas in the drive to improve the culture of safety within its operations, “because we know too well the risks and importance of road safety management in our operations and we are also externally focused because we do not operate in isolation.”

He added that Shell is pleased to be involved in the safety initiative, as safety is an integral part of the operations of all Shell companies in Nigeria. ”‘Safety First’ isn’t just a slogan in our operations, Safety is a way of life and work,” he said.

Sunmonu, also added that the workshop is part of a national programme, which commenced with a development workshop, in five Niger Delta States in 2011, and similar workshops are also planned for road safety practitioners throughout the country, and that SPDC believed that this will enable effective regulatory enforcement, which is essential for road safety management.

According to him, statistics from the World Health Organisation, WHO, showed that road traffic accidents remained the leading cause of death by injury globally, and it is the 10th leading cause of all deaths and the ninth leading contributor to the burden of diseases. Sadly, over 90 percent of these fatalities occur in low and middle income countries, even though these countries have only 20 percent of the world’s registered vehicles.