In Nigeria, More Accidents Occur On Good Roads Rather Than Bad Ones - FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said on Thursday in Abeokuta that more auto accidents were being recorded on good roads than bad ones across the country.

The Zonal Commander in charge of Lagos and Ogun, Mr Ademola Lawal made the observation at a meeting of stakeholders in the transportation sector.

"Accidents occur more on good roads than bad roads because drivers usually engage in over speeding to make up for the lost time they spent on bad roads.

"Some people are not used to good roads, so we have to continue to educate roads users on constant basis on the need to be cautious while on good roads," Mr Ademola Lawal said.

He also said the organisation had designed a programme tagged 'Beyond the Road' to check the health status of commercial drivers before they embark on any journey.

Lawal added that the FRSC would conduct compulsory test on blood pressure and sight of drivers in all the major parks in the zone to ensure that they were fit to drive.

"We will use some agents in commercial buses to caution drivers when they are over speeding and when they refuse, they shall be handed over to the next available FRSC team," he said.

He further said that health centres would be established in all the parks to check the sight of drivers, adding: "I have never seen a driver using recommended eyeglasses, does it mean they all have good sights?"

Also, the FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun, Ayobami Omiyale promised that the command "shall ensure effective traffic control and monitoring of motorists andprovide prompt rescue operations to crash victims."

Omiyale, who noted that festive seasons usually witness increased human and vehicular movement, advised motorists to obey road rules and regulations.

He particularly advised drivers to guard against over speeding, dangerous driving, overloading, wrongful over taking and driving under the influence of alcohol to prevent accidents.

The sector commander stressed the need for synergy among stakeholders in the transport sector to ensure hitch-free and accident free celebrations.

"Our toll free lines of 122 and 070022553772 could also be called in times of distress; our team will be there on time," he said.

The Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) in the state, Mr Victor Otuyemi, said reducing road crashes was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders.

He advocated more education and enlightenment programmes for the motoring public to reduce carnage on the highways.

Responding, the NURTW Publicity Secretary in the state, Alhaji Akinwunmi Dauda, called for a review of the process of acquiring drivers’ licence to ensure that only qualified persons got the document.

He commended the FRSC for the proposed health centres, assuring that the project would not be abandoned mid-way.

Akinwunmi promised that drivers in the union would be effectively enlightened on traffic rules and regulations, adding that lessons learnt from the meeting would be transferred to them accordingly.