Business
A’Ibom To Restructure Vehicles Inspection Unit
The Akwa Ibom Ministry of Transport said recently it would restructure the Vehicles Inspection Unit to curb road traffic accidents in the state.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Offiong Udofia, made this known while inaugurating the Truck Road Safety Campaign in Uyo.
Udofia said that the major cause of road accidents was the attitude of drivers who refused to obey simple road signs.
He lamented that a lot of lives had been lost on the roads and government could not watch the lives of innocent citizens being wasted by reckless drivers.
“The ministry of transport is doing everything possible to restructure and reposition the vehicle inspection unit to ensure that we do proper monitoring and regulation of vehicles on our roads” he said.
“You will discover that three things are involved; if we must maintain safety on roads, the attitude of the driver while in the steering is very important and drivers’ attitude has to be changed.
“Governments at all levels must endeavour to construct and maintain good roads to ensure safety. With good roads, the rate of road accidents will be reduced.
“The third one is the maintenance of these vehicles, let us ensure that our vehicles are in good working condition as owners, before we enter the road,” he said.
The permanent secretary warned drivers that the government would not tolerate any act of recklessness by drivers, adding that the lives of citizens were of paramount importance.
Earlier, the Sector Commander, FRSC Akwa Ibom, Mr Fidelis Osakwe, blamed road accidents on fatigue.
Osakwe advised truck drivers to always have enough sleep before embarking on long distance journeys and rest at any point of feeling fatigue.
He warned them against disobeying road signs and drinking alcohol while driving, adding that the consequence of disobedience was accident.
The sector commander said in line with international standards, drivers and other road users should target reduction of road crashes to the barest minimum by 2015.
Our correspondent reports that the event was organised by FRSC in collaboration with Arrive Alive Initiative.
The high point of the event was the distribution of wake-up devices by the Chairman of the initiative, Mr Ike Okonkwo, to truck drivers who were present.