280 killed, 1,600 injured in auto crashes between Xmas and New year's day.

280 road users were killed while 1600 were injured in auto crashes across the country during the just-concluded Christmas/New Year festivities,the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), said yesterday.

The Corps Marshal, Mr. Osita Chidoka, said in Abuja that the situation could have been worse, but for the 2012 Operation Zero Offences introduced by the corps to ease traffic flow.

He said the death rate from auto accidents has declined in the last 10 years, especially during Christmas period.

Mr. Chidoka, who spoke at the completion of the FRSC Aerial Traffic Monitoring exercise carried out in a few locations across the country, said: “From December 19, 2012 to today, we have had over 480 crashes.

“It’s an improvement on the previous year. We had about 1,600 people injured and 280 deaths arising from these crashes.”