Against the backdrop of hard data and lived realities, the analytical record of road traffic crashes between January and October 2025 when compared with the same period in 2024 tells a sobering story. Numbers may rise and fall, charts may stretch and contract, but one truth stands firm and frightening: nearly 85 percent of road traffic crashes during this period were speed-induced.
Beyond the cold certainty of statistics, and behind every number, lies a human story abruptly interrupted a journey cut short, a promise broken, a family altered forever. Speed may feel invisible, even thrilling, but on Nigerian roads, it has become a silent siren, calling tragedy into motion.
In response to this persistent and preventable threat, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has never been silent. Time and again, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, has warned that excessive speed remains the most lethal behaviour on our highways, constantly reminding motorists that the road is not a racetrack and that arriving alive is the true measure of a successful trip.
With the dawn of a new year and renewed national resolve, the Corps Marshal’s message is unmistakable: FRSC envisions a crash-free nation, but that future cannot be enforced into existence it must be chosen. And that choice rests squarely on the shoulders of every driver, rider, fleet operator, and pedestrian who uses our roads.
At the very core of this unfolding crisis lies a dangerous illusion speed. It compresses time and steals options. At high speed, reaction windows shrink, braking distances stretch, and minor errors become fatal decisions. Vehicles lose stability, tyres lose grip, and the human body fragile by design meets forces it cannot withstand. Speed multiplies the severity of outcomes: what might have been a minor collision at moderate speed becomes a life-altering crash when velocity takes control. It fuels reckless overtaking, blurs judgement, and turns simple distractions into irreversible consequences.
Far removed from twisted metal and shattered glass, beyond the wreckage, lies an economic wound that bleeds silently. Speed-related crashes drain household savings through medical bills, vehicle repairs, and lost income. They burden employers with reduced productivity and saddle the nation with increased healthcare costs, emergency response expenses, and infrastructure damage. Every crash diverts public resources that could have built schools, strengthened hospitals, or improved roads. Speeding does not just cost lives; it taxes the future.
Even long after the sirens fade and the roads fall quiet, the mind remembers. Survivors live with trauma, anxiety, and fear. Families wrestle with grief, guilt, and unanswered questions. Children grow up with empty seats at dinner tables; parents age under the weight of loss; communities mourn in silence. Speeding leaves scars that no insurance policy can fully repair.
In the deepest aftermath of irreversible loss particularly when a life is lost to speed families inherit burdens they did not choose: sudden responsibilities, emotional fractures, and altered destinies. Breadwinners disappear, caregivers are overwhelmed, and dreams are deferred. Society too bears the cost, as talents are lost, futures are shortened, and trust in road safety is shaken.
It is therefore time for us, as a nation, to come together and confront this menace head-on—to hit the nail on the head rather than politicising every crash. Road traffic crashes are a global challenge, one that led to the establishment of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety. Apportioning blame to the system after every crash, instead of addressing the root cause and human behaviour behind it, will not move us forward.
We must be mindful and extra careful. The continual efforts of government in providing road infrastructure should never be interpreted as a licence for death races. Enough of the carnage. Enough of the impunity. There must be consequences for every infraction to serve as a deterrent. Rather than attacking the system, let us focus on the road user who failed to do the right thing.
Let us stop the killings. The time is now.
As the year 2026 unfolds, the call is clear and urgent: slow down, respect speed limits, and drive to arrive. The Federal Road Safety Corps can educate, enforce, and rescue—but prevention begins with personal responsibility. A crash-free nation is not a slogan; it is a collective act of restraint, care, and conscience.
On our roads, speed kills silently. Wisdom saves loudly.
