Becky Uba Umenyili
The Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) has intensified efforts to checkmate the usual road accidents which occur incessantly at year–end periods, in order to safeguard lives especially during the yuletide.
The Sector Commander of the Lagos State Command of the FRSC, Mr. Olusegun Ogungbemide in an exclusive interview explained that the sector has embarked on public sensitisation programs to educate the public on safety issues, particularly on the need to avoid over-speeding which he says has been observed from statistics as the major cause of most road accidents, especially at nights.
Ogungbemide also said the sector has commenced the federal government-sponsored MBR (Motor Bike Rescue) scheme whereby motorised bike which takes two staff, inclusive of a paramedics (for first aid purposes), is employed for immediate rescue mission.
He said the scheme is a faster means of saving lives in the case of any road mishap to avoid delay due to traffic bottlenecks, while awaiting the arrival of a well-equipped ambulance vehicle.
He noted that the command will continue to collaborate with other security agencies to achieve relative safety on roads, especially this season.
He appealed to construction companies to ensure that equipment that constitute road-blocks, are off the way for safe driving.
On the issue of the COVID-19 protocols which seem to have relaxed since the easing of the lockdown, the commander noted that the sector has not relented in the effort to enforce it on motorists, particularly commercial ones, but that more attention is concentrated on sensitising the public on the importance of safety measures on the roads.
Meanwhile, during the workshop for driving schools’ Instructors in Nigeria which the command organised recently, it was observed that human incompetence has been the major cause of road traffic crashes resulting in grave fatalities.
Thus, the Driving School Standardisation Programme (DSSP), which was introduced in 2010 to ensure standard and uniformity in drivers’ education, has been used by the Corp to collate data, introduce Computer Base Test (CBT) and conduct training to equip the instructors with the “requisite knowledge and skills for safe driving on Nigerian roads”.
Also in line with its collaborative effort, the sector command partnered Guinness Nig. Plc recently in Lagos to organise a programme tagged “Ember Month, Don’t Drink and Drive, Stay Alive”, during which the Zonal Commander of Lagos FRSC, ACM Peter Kibo, highlighted the health hazards of drinking and driving to discourage victims of such acts
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Guinness Plc, Mr. Baker Magunda assured that his organisation will always partner the command “in fulfilling the Corp mandate”.
