Tag Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)

Crashes
Kazeem Akande
Lagos, Oct. 14, 2019 (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says Nigeria lost over N39 billion to tanker and trailer-related road crashes in 2018.

Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal, FRSC, made the disclosure  on Monday in Lagos at a stakeholders’ meeting with tank farm operators, with theme “Safe Haulage Vehicle Operations in Nigeria’’.

He said that a total of 650 tankers and trailers were involved in the crashes in 2018, with over 90 percent of the affected vehicles having been used for haulage transportations for over 30 years.

“Nigeria lost N39 billion to trailer and tanker crashes in 2018 alone, with about 650 articulated vehicles involved, while over 90 percent of them had been used for haulage transportation for over 30 years.

“Haulage has become the most utilised way of inter-city movements of goods and services, while the country consumes an estimated 60 million litres of refined petroleum products per day,’’ he said.

Oyeyemi said that the introduction of safe-to-load programme of distribution of major petroleum products was aimed at ensuring that only vehicles in good condition were allowed to transport both wet and dry cargoes on the roads.

According to him, the vehicles must also be driven by qualified and competent drivers to ensure safety on the roads.

The corps marshal added that FRSC officials deployed to tank farms across the country were also trained and retrained to ensure compliance with the standard by fleet operators.

He said that the corps would conduct investigations on all fatal accidents involving trailers and tankers, with a view to unravelling the causes and proffering preventive measures to appropriate authorities.

Oyeyemi identified use of unlicensed motor boys as drivers, lack of lane discipline, indiscriminate parking along the major corridors, use of additional lights at night and non-usage of retro-reflective tapes to enhance visibility at night as some of the prevailing challenges.

The FRSC boss said that periodic checks of haulage vehicles at loading points by the taskforce committee was critical to regularly ascertain the safety status and compliance level of vehicles.

Mr Clement Isong, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Major Oil Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, in his remarks, said that safety was one of the main priorities in petroleum business.

Isong said that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the safe-to-load programme was adhered to by the stakeholders.

In his remarks,   Mr Aloga Ogbogo, the Executive Secretary, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), said that the safe-to-load programme initiated by the corps marshal would ensure sanity on the roads and the haulage sector generally.

He called for the review of weigh bridges to ensure that articulated vehicles were loaded according to their capabilities.

“The weigh bridges will address the issue of safe-to-load initiative, especially the wet cargoes.

“And mostly, all the articulated vehicles drivers are not using glasses; does that mean they all have good eyesight? Using glasses does not mean you cannot drive.

“At the same time, putting a good truck on a bad road can also damage such a truck within few years, other things being equal. Therefore, necessary things must be put in place to ensure that the safe-to-load programme is perfected,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 253 tankers and trailers were involved in fatal crashes in 2017, with efforts being put in place by the FRSC to reduce crashes to the barest minimum. (NAN)
AKA/VIV/WAS

Editing by Vivian Ihechu and ‘Wale Sadeeq

Traffic

By Muhammad Adam

Yola, Aug. 8, 2019 ( NAN) The Adamawa Command of the FRSC says it is set to deploy no fewer than  562 officers to maintain traffic situations in Adamawa  during the Eid-el-Kabir.

Mr Muhammed Husaini, the State’s Sector Commander of the FRSC, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Yola.

Husaini said that during the period, the command would also clampdown on drivers who were found to be speeding and transporting excess passengers or luggage.

He said that this would help to protect the lives of motorists and road users in the state.

“So far, the command has set to deploy no fewer than 562 officers from seven sub- commands in the state to maintain traffic and road safety during Eid-el-Kabir.

“ We will also apprehend those using telephones while driving and underage drivers during the period,’’ Husaini said.

He said the command had also arranged 12 operational vehicles and two ambulances to take care of emergencies during the period.

Husaini said that the FRSC officers would patrol the major roads including some accident- prone points and routes during Eid-el-Kabir.

He appealed to road users across the state to strictly abide by the rules and regulations of road traffic for a hitch-free celebration. (NAN)

AMA/VIV/PAD

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Editing by Vivian Ihechu/Peter Dada

Obedience to traffic rules will reduce road crashes – FRSC

Crashes

By Mercy Obojeghren

Asaba, May 28, 2019 (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says obedience to traffic rules and regulations will help reduce road crashes.

Mr Chiedozie Okoh, the Sector Public Education Officer of the FRSC in Delta, made the assertion at a ceremony to mark the National Road Safety Club Day on Tuesday in Asaba.

Okoh advised motorists to be safety conscious when driving, and to abide by safety rules.

He said that being safety conscious and maintaining required speed limits by motorists would go a long way in ensuring safety on Nigerian roads.

Okoh explained that as part of the activities to mark this year’s road safety club day, the command embarked on road show with students from selected secondary schools in Delta.

According to him, the aim is to catch the students young.

“The essence of the road safety clubs in schools is to catch the children young as well as make them understand the need for safety.

“They must be conversant with the road signs, how to cross the road and should be able correct their parents when they notice that they are not obeying traffic signs,” he said.

He advised the students to be conversant with road safety signs and traffic signs.

Okoh said that children make use of the roads more often, and in most cases, if they have road safety ideas, they could equally contribute to ensure that the roads are safe.

“There may be cases where parents might be over speeding and such children should be able tell their parents that they are over speeding,” he said.

Speaking after the event, Ann Ereruche, a student of Infant Jesus Academy in Asaba, told NAN that being a member of the FRSC club gave her the opportunity to know about road safety and  its regulations.

“It is quite an exciting experience, learning road signs, road safety rules and regulations; for me, it has been a very wonderful experience,’’ she said.

Ereruche appealed to other students to join the road safety clubs in their various schools.

Also, Master Oweazim Chukwufumnanya of  the Nazarite Academy, Asaba, said: “Being a member of the road safety club will give us more knowledge on how to use the roads, especially when it comes to obeying traffic rules.

“The more we learn, the less ignorant we are and once we have good knowledge of the use of the roads, the roads will be safer for everybody,” he said. (NAN)

MOA/VIV/SOA

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Editing by Vivian Ihechu/Oluwole Sogunle

Children

By Chukwuemeka Opara
Abakaliki, May 27, 2019 (NAN) The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Monday urged parents and guardians to stop exposing children to road dangers by engaging them in unwholesome practices.

Mrs Stella Uchegbu, the FRSC Sector Commander in Ebonyi, made the call in Abakaliki while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the occasion of National Road Safety Club Day in the state to observe the Children’s Day.

Uchegbu said that children were the strength and future of any society and their usefulness depended on their safety and security.

“It has been observed that parents and guardians expose their children to dangers in the guise of showing them love.

“It has become common practice for some parents and guardians to carry their children on their laps while driving, while others carry their children with one hand and steer the vehicle with the other.

“Most parents also prefer to carry their children younger than age 12 in the front-seat, thereby exposing them to suffocation by the ‘air-bag’ in the event of an accident,” she said.

The FRSC sector commander said that likewise, children have been observed severally, standing and playing inside vehicles driven by their parents without caution.

“They sometimes, unlock the doors of moving vehicles and face the risk of falling off from the vehicle of which they either die or sustain serious injuries.

“Children as pedestrians also play football among other sporting activities along the road thereby facing the risk of being knocked down by vehicles.

“They also cross the roads without calculating properly and most times, are knocked down by motorists,” she said.

She called on parents, guardians and other stakeholders to stop all negative practices which endanger the lives of children as any nation with high child-mortality rate is heading toward extinction.

“We are inculcating road safety tips to children in primary and secondary schools so that they will be abreast of such information by the time they become adults,” she said.

Also, Mr Anya Nkama, the state’s Coordinator of the Road Safety Special Marshals, urged children to take the responsibilities of the safeguarding themselves on the roads seriously.

“Children for instance, should restrain their parents from making calls while driving, letting them understand that it was a risky practice.

“The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members should also be passionate in their road safety duties to ensure safer roads in the state and country,” he said.

Miss Clara Ibe, one of the participants in the programme, noted that she had been taught several road safety tips and pledged to put them to practice.

NAN reports that the occasion with the theme, “Catch Them Young for Safety’’ witnessed a road-walk through  major roads in Abakaliki by the club members who were drawn from schools and the NYSC. (NAN)
RCO/VIV/PDE
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(Editing by Vivian Ihechu/Peter Ejiofor)