By Ibironke Ariyo
Abuja, – The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has raised concern over the alarming rate of road crashes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which, it says, has resulted in loss of many lives.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, stated this at the flag-off of the 2019 ‘ember months’ campaign in the FCT, on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the campaign was “Road safety is a state of mind; road traffic crash is an absence of mind; stay alert, stay alive”.
Oyeyemi, who was represented by the Assistant Corps Marshal, Federal Operations, Mr Hygenius Fuomsuk, said that though the rate of accidents in the FCT was alarming, it could, however, be prevented.
He said that with the launch of the campaign, road users should be extra careful while driving.
“People should change their attitude for good, because accidents could be avoided. It is not a curse; crashes are caused by human beings,” he said.
Oyeyemi reiterated the need for road users to cooperate with the corps in order to ensure safer roads in the FCT and across the country.
“FRSC will succeed only when motorists cooperate with us, because it is not our affairs alone; rather, it is a collective responsibility,” he said.
He urged road users to use pedestrian bridges so as to compliment government’s efforts at ensuring safety of lives and property.
On his part, the FCT FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Gora Wobin, noted that ‘ember months’ usually witnessed increased movement of humans, goods and services across the country.
“These developments are due to a number of factors, which are mostly human, resulting in avoidable loss of lives and property.
“Etiquette for road safety requires that one must not allow the action or inaction of another to determine safety on roads.
“All road users must, therefore, ensure compliance with road traffic regulations in order to ensure zero tolerance for road traffic crashes during the ‘ember months’ and beyond,” he said.
Wobin lamented that there were still preventable road infractions in the FCT, which must be addressed urgently.
According to him, these infractions include refusal of pedestrians to use pedestrian bridges, use of handsets while driving and operators of tricycles and motorcycles plying unauthorised routes, among others.
These, he said, had serious security and safety implications, and so, must be frowned at by all.
The sector commander, however, expressed appreciation to stakeholders in the transport sector and the FCT administration for their assistance, which had helped the command in its quest to ensure safety on roads.
In his remark, the traditional ruler of Garki, Alhaji Usman Kupi, commended the FRSC for its effort towards traffic management in and around the FCT.
He called for the creation of more mobile courts across the FCT to ensure speedy trials of apprehended road offenders. (NAN)
