FRSC Chief Advises against Night Journeys

Becky  Uba Umenyili

The Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Olusegun Ogungbemide has decried the increase in the number of night trips as observed by the Commission in recent times due to the hike in transportation fare  especially by daytime.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with  THISDAY,  Ogungbemide said: “Night driving should be highly discouraged  because it takes more time to get assistance in the event of emergency need when compared to day time.”

According to him, “drivers are always advised to observe at least  10 minutes rest for every  four hours of driving at a stretch to enable full blood circulation and stay alert.”

He noted that this advice which has been ignored by most drivers, leads to fatigue and possibly crashes on the roads.

Reacting to the recent call by the   Nigeria Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr.Muyiwa Adejobi on all States’ Houses of Assembly to “enact laws that will describe and treat intentional and wilful road crashes as criminal and not mere traffic offences”, the FRSC boss lamented the human factors causing fatal crashes.

He said such factors include driving beyond speed limit permitted by law, overloading, reckless driving, inadequate vehicle maintenance, use of expired tyres as well as underage and drunk driving.

He therefore, supported the call by the PPRO as “a good assertion that  will minimise the rate of fatal crashes on Nigeria roads, if implemented.”  

The call by Adejobi came on the heels of increase recklessness causing deaths on highways. Mr. Adejobi observes that this is “simply because offenders are apprehended as violators of traffic rules whereas, they caused unwarranted deaths and therefore employed law-making organs to review the existing laws in order to entrench more discipline.”