The Assistant. Corps Marshal, Imoh Etuk, Zonal Commanding Officer,Zone 2, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Lagos/Ogun has urged road users to comply with the COVID-19 protocol guidelines to avoid road crashes, especially as ember months set in.
Etuks gave the advice while flag-off Ember Months in his zone with the Theme:”Drive Safe, Stay Safe”, held in Lagos.
He attributed one of the causes of crashes on the highway to sleeping, but added that FRSC was tackling the problem, rigorously with the introduction and enforcement of the speed limiting device in commercial vehicles.
“One of the critical offences the corps focused on is overloading vehicles. The danger of overloading a vehicle cannot be overemphasised, apart from the fact that it hampers the driver’s ability to control the vehicle, overloaded goods also poses safety challenge to other road users.
” The statistics of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, as at October 6 stands at 59, 465 confirmed cases, 50951 discharged cases and 1,113 deaths.
“This might sound like mere figures or statistics, but there is no doubt about the carnage caused by the virus globally to economies, businesses and families.
“An estimated 1, 044, 000 people have died from the deadly virus with United State, Brazil and Indian being the worst hit,”he said.
According to the zonal commander, this and others prompted the zone, in July and Sept. 2020 to partner with some stakeholders to launch COVID-19 enlightenment Kiosk.
He said the aim was to educate the public on COVID-19 Safety protocols and educate the motoring public, especially in the motor parks, on best driving practices to keep the highway safe for all road users.
“A total of 1,034,000 people lose their lives annually to road traffic crashes and between 20 to 50 million people are injured or permanently disabled from road traffic crashes annually, globally,”Etuk said.
Of the number, Nigeria 4,737 persons died in 9,698 crashes and other 30, 744 people sustained various degrees of injuries in 2019
Etuk said that the figures showed that number of lives lost to road traffic crashes in 2019 almost four time the number of lives lost as a result of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
Contributing, theFRSC Sector Commander, Mr Olusegun Ogungbemi, represented by the Head of Operations, FRSC Lagos, Mr Cyril Matthew urged drivers,both commercial and private, to exercise caution, especially during during ember months while on wheel.
According to him, they should embrace defensive driving techniques and keep to the recommended speed limits for their class of vehicle.
He also urged the drivers to avoid the use of phone while driving, avoid overloading their vehicles and avoid fatigue-driving as well as drive safe in order to stay safe.
The Sector Commander, Ogun, of FRSC, Corp Commander, Ahmed Umar, advised drivers to always consider other motor users while driving, adding that a lot of road accident used to take place during the ember festival period.
In his good will message, thee National President, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, represented by the Assistant. National Secretary, Mr Adedokun Taiwo,said the union’s drivers were complying with the COVID-19 protocol guidelines.
Akinsanya, (A. K. A) Oluomo, promised that the union would continue to educating its drivers, more, during the ember period to chey road crashes.
