Lokoja – The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Wednesday, commended the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for introducing speed limiting device, saying it would ensure safety on the roads.
Chairman of the union in Kogi, Mr Jibril Mohammed, made the commendation at a sensitisation programme organised by FRSC for “Organised Transport Union Stakeholders’’ in Lokoja.
He described the measure as “appreciable initiative’’, which would improve safety and reduce high rate of crashes on the roads.
“We, at NURTW are in support of the initiative because the sanctity of someone behind the wheel is to start a journey and arrive at a safe destination.
“If the initiative is effectively maximised, it will reduce fatality on Nigerian roads to the barest minimum,” Mohammed said.
While urging his members to take advantage of the initiative by ensuring adequate compliance, he urged the Federal Government to expedite action on reconstruction of roads across the country.
In his speech, FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr Kehinde Adeleye, said that the essence of the programme was to sensitise transport operators on the enforcement of the requirements for installation of the speed limiting device in their vehicles.
“The enforcement date for the implementation of speed limiting device on vehicles of commercial transport operators will be Oct. 1, 2016.
“We feel it is necessary to further enlighten the commercial transport operators on the need to have the device installed in their vehicles before the enforcement date.
“The basis for this initiative is to drastically reduce the fatality and mobility rate in traffic crashes on our roads.
“FRSC, as the lead government agency saddled with the responsibility of road traffic management in Nigeria has identified speeding as a major contributing factor to road crashes and attendant casualties.
“It has been established that more than 50 per cent of fatalities on Nigerian roads are caused by excessive speed.
“We have taken these giant strides in collaboration with other stakeholders, to raise public consciousness on the relevance of the speed limiters,” he said.
Adeleye said that the first phase would focus on commercial vehicles operators, nationwide.
He, therefore, urged all transport operators to align with the life-saving initiative by ensuring the installation of the speed limiters on their vehicles before the deadline to avoid arrest and sanctions. (NAN)
