The Zonal Commanding Officer Zone RS1 Kaduna, ACM Godwin Omiko on Friday while at the stakeholders engagement forum in Katsina State aimed at Road Traffic Crash reduction listed human factors as one of the major causes of road crashes in Nigeria as Katsina State inclusive.

He said the focus of the forum is to allow critical stakeholders in road safety matters reflect over issues of road traffic crashes within the context of the ongoing efforts to reduce the rate and fatality of road crashes in the country.

“As the lead agency in road traffic administration and safety management in the country, FRSC has always expressed its commitment to ensuring safer road environments which require collective participation and collaboration of all relevant stakeholders. As we have always maintained, road safety is a shared responsibility which no single person or organization can effectively handle.” 

“It is therefore pleasing to note that Nigerian Government took proactive measure in 1988 by establishing the Federal Road Safety Corps as the nation’s lead agency for road safety management and administration with the responsibility for reversing the road crash trends through various strategies including stakeholder’s engagement.

“Commercial driving is a unique profession across the World that can only be best practiced by competent and well trained drivers who are properly licensed and committed to the job through obedience to traffic rules and regulations.

“A good driver must always drive with the consciousness that the people he is carrying are breadwinners, families and friends to other people whose lives are precious to them and also have at the back of his mind that other road users deserve the use of the road like just him.

“However, we have continued to observe with dismay how speed induced crashes has continued to cause havoc to innocent citizens who become victims of carelessness of the drivers most of who violate traffic rules and regulations with impunity and cause crashes that could have ordinary been avoided”, according to ACM Godwin Omiko.

ACM Godwin also told the gathering that the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps Dauda Ali Biu has approved the creation of additional Command in Katsina State precisely in Kankia to increase the Corps visibility as well as created Area Commands in Daura and Funtua and deployed staff for the smooth take off of the Commands. 

On his part, the Sector Commander, RS1.3 Katsina Command, CC Ibrahim Bazama said the command is committed and well positioned to ensure road traffic crash reduction by fighting expeditiously to curb overloading, speeding, driving under influence, unsafe tyres, night travels, dangerous driving, use of phone while driving, lack of respect to rest hours among commercial drivers among other sundry factors 

“Over the years concerted efforts have been geared by the Corps towards mitigating road traffic crash, the Command had strategically planned no limited to special operations on overloading (mixed loading) and mechanically deficient vehicles”, the Sector Commander said.

According to Bazama, the command has engaged in many activities to ensuring safety on high ways no limited to “enforcement on failure to install speed limiting device on commercial vehicles, mobile courts,  enforcement on driving under influence and joint special patrol with NDLEA, special patrol on use of phone while driving, public enlightenment, rallies and campaigns in parks, terminal, places of worship, media houses on unsafe tyres, night travels and all above listed infractions.

The Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda who was represented by his Deputy, Faruq Jobe opined that the Corps can advanced in technology in solving road related offences as it is obtainable from other countries of the world.

Two drivers who are victims of road crashes and are now living with disability narrated their ordeals as one has amputed leg and while the other has 2 legs disabled with the aid of crutches, saying it was due to reckless overtaking.

NYSC FRSC club acted drama on the consequences of use of phones while driving.

Representatives of the Emir of Katsina, Nigeria Police, Customs, NDLEA, NSCDC, NURTW, NATO among others were also in attendance. 

Culled from Faithmajisblog