House Urges FRSC to Enforce Use of Pedestrian Bridges on Highways

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to embark on a rigorous public enlightenment campaign to underscore the need for Nigerians to always use pedestrian bridges, to avert road accidents.

The House also urged the FRSC to liaise with other security agencies to arrest and sanction persons who cross the highway at locations where pedestrian bridges are provided.

It further mandated its Committee on Federal Road Safety to ensure completion.

The resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by, Hon. Abbas Adigun.

Moving the motion, Adigun noted that the importance of pedestrian bridges cannot be over-emphasised as it is known all over the world to have greatly reduced the rate of accidents on highways.

He said the House is aware of the dangerous attitude of some pedestrians who ignore the bridges located on such busy highways and continue to take the risk of crossing the ever-busy highways.

The lawmaker expressed concerns that some Nigerians, mostly pedestrians, view the bridges as aesthetic structures and locations for buying and selling, rather than means of ensuring their safety.

According to him, the defaulters are not ignorant of the essence of the bridges but the absence of visible enforcement agents to punish them for crossing the highway even where the pedestrian bridges are available.

Adigun added that unless conscious efforts are made to enforce traffic rules regarding the use of pedestrian bridges, the purpose for which they were constructed would be defeated.