Ogun State Government, through the Bureau of Statistics, is taking significant steps towards enhancing road safety in the state.

The State Statistician-General, Mr. Michael Ajayi, stated this while delivering a keynote address at a one-day training for Field Personnel in Ogun State Road Safety Survey, organised by the state’s Bureau of Statistics, in collaboration with the state Road Safety Advisory Council, at the National Bureau of Statistics Training Hall, Federal Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Mr. Ajayi revealed that the training would enable the state to generate a robust dataset for strategic decisions and guide interventions, to reduce road crashes, improve traffic management and enhance road user-safety, adding that road safety remains a priority in any well-functioning society, just as its impact from public health to economic productivity, as well as individual quality of life, cannot be over-emphasised.

 The Statistician-General stated that the road safety survey would concentrate on three core areas, including, Traffic Volume Count, Administration of Questionnaires and Road Audit as well as provision of essential data to outline safer, more efficient and user-friendly roadways across the state, towards ensuring that road users travel safely and conveniently.

He charged participants to be accurate, thorough and dedicated to duty while conducting the survey.

Also speaking, a representative from the National Bureau of Statistics, Mr. Gbenga Olowoyeye, while acknowledging the support of the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, advised the trainees to embrace the standard of precision, professionalism and empathy, saying each piece of data collected would contribute to a safer and more organised road system.

Contributing, a retired Permanent Secretary in the Bureau, Sir Emmanuel Ofor, expressed optimism that the exercise would educate road users on traffic rules and regulations, ultimately benefiting both the government and individuals, adding that the collaborative effort would demonstrate government's commitment to road safety and data-driven decision-making.

In his lecture, one of the facilitators, Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Commander Babatunde Akinbiyi, lauded the state government for its foresight, highlighting data's crucial roles in development.

One of the participants, a Statistician in the Bureau, Mr. Olurotimi Sofolahan, noted that the training would equip the field personnel with necessary skills in data collation and analysis for sustainable development.