By Bukola Olamona

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Worried by the growing carnage on Ondo roads, the state Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Samuel Ibitoye, has issued a stern call for a total behavioural overhaul among road users, warning that bloodshed will persist unless attitudes change.

Ibitoye, who spoke during the 8th United Nations Road Safety Week in Akure, lamented the “needless loss of lives” arising from preventable causes such as reckless driving, disregard for traffic rules, and poor road habits.

According to him, 94 road crashes were recorded across the state in the first three months of 2025 alone, claiming 53 lives and leaving 244 others with various degrees of injury.

The figures, he noted, mark a sharp and disturbing rise from the same period last year, when 33 people were killed and 237 injured in 74 incidents.

“From these numbers, it’s clear that the issue isn’t just bad roads or faulty vehicles, it’s us. It’s how we behave behind the wheel and how we treat one another on the road,” Ibitoye said.

Of the 53 deaths recorded, he said 39 were adult males, 13 were adult females and one was a young girl.

He blamed speeding, dangerous overtaking, overloading, fatigue, poor vehicle maintenance and dilapidated road conditions for the spike, but maintained that human behaviour remains the most critical factor.

“There must be a drastic change in attitude. Drivers must stop endangering lives with careless actions. Road safety is not the sole responsibility of the FRSC, it is a shared duty. Everyone must be involved,” he stressed.

Calling on policymakers, road engineers, and contractors to rethink transport planning, Ibitoye called for the integration of pedestrian walkways and cycling lanes into all road projects to protect non-motorised users and reduce congestion.

He applauded Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s ongoing efforts to improve road infrastructure but insisted that infrastructure without behavioural change would only achieve limited results.

Meanwhile, the state Vice Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Comrade Adeniyi Oyedapo, and the Deputy Secretary of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Kareem Tajudeen, commended the FRSC for its consistent advocacy.

They noted that both unions had intensified internal awareness campaigns aimed at sensitising members on safe driving practices, regular vehicle checks and strict adherence to traffic rules.