The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has emphasized the need for automobile companies to build more protective and safety features into vehicles, in order to reduce the rate of deaths occasioned by road crashes across the country.
FRSC Sector Commander, Delta State, Udeme Bassey Eshiet, stated this in a recent interview with journalists under the auspices of Indigenous Correspondents chapel in Asaba, Delta state capital. He also called on government at all levels as well as road contractors to place premium on the safety of road users while constructing roads.
He said, “We are talking to the manufacturers of vehicles. Please, manufacture vehicles that will forgive the mistakes of human beings. When there is a crash, the vehicle should bring more protective instrument for the passenger that is inside, and you will not die. You may be injured. The injury should not be the one that is so terrible that your life will be on the line.
“We are also talking to people constructing roads so that we can give advice to them. We should build roads in Nigeria that can forgive human errors. A vehicle can make a mistake but the road will forgive and throw the person back and the person will fall in a place where he will not be so badly injured. We are believing that Nigeria will get to that level.”
While calling on all road users to be safety conscious and abide by safety protocols, Eshiet noted that the Corps in Delta State was committed to reducing road accidents to the barest minimum, through sensitization campaigns, monitoring and law enforcement.
According to him, “The battle against road crashes is so much. Until we are able to abate road crashes, we will not stop. We have a mandate to reduce road crashes. When we look at crashes in 2022 and compare with crashes in 2023, we discover that there was a reduction but that’s not where we are going. We want to take it to the barest minimum. We want to step up our enforcement.
“We have been to churches and motor parks to talk to people on the proper use of the road. God helping us, we will reach to as many churches as possible. Road crashes have been a problem to us. We still need to talk to people on the need to be more safety conscious on the road.”
The FRSC Boss also stressed that the Corps was desirous of improving on the training given to drivers, and ensuring that only qualified and licensed drivers ply the roads, while obeying all rules and regulations, necessary for the safety of passengers.
“We produce number plates in Nigeria. We also have drivers licenses of international standard. We are doing modification where everyone will undergo computer based test before having access to them
“We have 20 modules of training sessions and after that, you go through the test and submit. We try as much as possible to enhance the integrity of drivers license. It increases the IGR of the state.
“In Delta state, we are clamping down on unregistered motorbikes. When we saw the number of bikes not registered and the funds realized after making them to register, it gave us satisfaction in the state,” he stated.
He advised drivers and passengers to desist from overloading as well as minimize embarking on night journeys, to help check road crashes on the highways. He also cautioned people against overspending and other forms of road misconduct.
He said, “We have been enforcing on overloading. We are clamping down on these trucks that load and carry people on top. We are looking at the possibility of operating in the night. These people enter roads in the night when they know road safety officials are off the road.
What causes road crashes is unsafe act in an unsafe condition. Driving excessively with the speed you cannot control especially when it’s raining is an unsafe act in an unsafe condition. If you do not maintain your vehicles, it is an unsafe act. You cannot be on the road and you behave as if you are the master of the road.”
Eshiet further called on Nigerians to always consider alternative means of transportation with less risk factors and are more environment-friendly.
“Recently, we had celebration of bicycle day. When people were using bicycles, there were no much road crashes. When you ride your bicycle, if you fall, you may sustain injury, but you will not die. We want to see how we can reduce vehicles on the road and introduce bicycles. It will go a long way in reducing pollution in our nation,” he said.
