FRSC To Begin Road Safety Education

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has directed its sector and unit commands in Anambra, Delta and Edo States to commence aggressive road safety education in public places and gatherings.

Assistant Corps Marshal of the agency in-charge of the three states, Mr Wole Olaniran, gave the directive during the Zonal Rs-5 Co-operators Meeting held at the FRSC Ihiala Unit Command in Anambra last Thursday.

The monthly meeting was meant to review the operations of the officers and men of the FRSC.

According to him, “The 17 units and the three sector commands under this zone had been directed to intensify their road users’ education campaigns at motor parks, drivers’ association forums, offices, churches, schools and market places.

“The sudden increase in road accidents soon after the Easter celebration, a situation that was under control during the Easter festive proper, was unacceptable to the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer,’’ he added.

Olaniran, however, blamed the recent up surge in road crashes in the zone on the attitude of motorists who had failed to observe road traffic rules.

He said that most of the road crashes were avoidable if road users could change their attitude of being in a hurry and not checking the vehicles “very well’’ before starting a journey.

“Human factors are central in all cases of road crashes. If people can drive responsibly and conduct themselves in such a way as to know that the arrival at their destinations safely should be paramount to them; then, road crashes can hardly occur. “All road users should also desist from patronising and using fairly used tyres since it is on record that it had led to increase in road crashes,’’ he warned.

Olaniran said that the zonal command would soon release the number of road crashes casualties in the zone for the first quarter of the year.

Our source recalls that on April 5, about 50 people died in two separate road crashes on Benin-Lagos Road and Onitsha-Owerri Road , which falls within the operational jurisdiction of the zonal command.