Nigeria blames auto accidents on fake, expired tyres

The Nigerian government on Monday attributed most road accidents in the country to the use of fake and expired tyres by vehicle owners.

Fake and expired tyres were responsible for more than 3,000 road crashes in the last five years, Ikechukwu Igwe, the southeast Cross River Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) told reporters in Calabar.

He expressed regrets that most Nigerians still prefer used tyres in spite of the regular sensitization campaign carried out by the commission on the need to stop purchase of fake and expired tyres.

According to him, the FRSC would not relent in its sensitization campaign with a view to educating car owners on the dangers of patronizing fake and expired tyres.

"We will intensify efforts in collaboration with the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to raid outlets that trades in fake and expired tyres," he said.

He advised car owners to always check the expiry date of any tyre they intended to buy, saying that such checks would prevent them from buying fake ones.

Nigeria is among countries of the high death rates in traffic accidents, mainly due to careless driving, crumbling roads or invalidity of some vehicles used in public transportation. Enditem