The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it was presently training community volunteers and responders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as first aiders to Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) in various communities.

Mr Oga Ochi, Sector Commander, FRSC FCT Command, disclosed this in an interview with the media on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ochi said that the corps was engaging first aiders within the communities especially at flash points in the territory to help avert road crashes.

He said that the initiative had become necessary in view of two ugly cases on Yangoji-Gwagwalada Road and Kwali-Abaji Road that skyrocketed the number of deaths from road crashes in FCT in 2022.

He said that 19 and 17 people died respectively from the two crashes, adding that it spurred the idea of getting the communities involved.

19 persons were killed while eight others were injured in a Sunday auto crash on Yangoji-Gwagwalada Road in September.

Also, 17 persons were killed with four others sustaining varying degrees of injuries in a crash in Awawa on Kwali-Abaji Road in November 2022.

Ochi said that the community volunteers would be equipped after the training with Closed User Groups (CUG) sim card that would help them get back to the corps in time.

He said: “We are engaging what we call Community Responders. These are first aiders within the communities and we have already started the training.

“We are going to expedite the training this year in various communities where we noticed flash points in the FCT and the communities volunteers within the community will be trained and equipped with the CUG sim.

“They don’t need to pay anything to get back to us and we are doing that so that we will have people that are responding to incidences of crashes early enough.

“So, aside the use of Special Marshals, there is going to be community responders in the FCT. We will make sure that we have enough communities in flashpoint areas in this first quarter.”

The sector commander further disclosed that everything would have been put in place by second quarter of 2023 to assist the FRSC in reducing road traffic crashes.

“I think this is something that we must put effort and ensure necessary resources are gathered if we’re going to drastically reduce road crashes fatality in the FCT.

“We will continue to do our best to ensure that the roads are safe for all this year and we are also appealing to the public for their cooperation to achieve this mandate of saving lives and properties, “he said.