The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Drivers

  • Ebonyi drivers warned against over speeding

    Special Marshals of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ebonyi State at the weekend held a safety campaign on the need to ensure zero tolerance for road accidents, especially during Easter.

    This followed the death of nine persons on the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway last week.

    The Special Marshals visited schools, churches and parks to educate road users, including motorists, on the best safety measures to adopt to avoid road accident.

    State Coordinator Dr. Henry Urochukwu said the exercise was a regular patrol embarked upon by the special marshals. He urged drivers to avoid over speeding.

    Sector Commander Charles Aborchi enjoined drivers to avoid night journeys as most accidents are recorded at night, even as he warned them against drinking and driving.

    He urged the motorists to avoid using expired tyres, overloading and over speeding.

  • Traffic offences: Nine commercial drivers jailed in Edo

    Traffic offences: Nine commercial drivers jailed in Edo

    Nine commercial drivers have been sentenced to 30 days imprisonment by a mobile court sitting in Benin City   for traffic offences.

    Attempts by officials of the Drivers Welfare Scheme to stop the arraignment failed.

    The convicts were arraigned for contravening traffic rules at Ring Road in Benin City, an offence punishable under Section 37 of the Edo State Traffic Management Laws 2010.

    One driver was discharged because the police failed to obtain his statement before his arraignment.

    The convicts pleaded liable when the charges were separately read to them but they failed to convince the court why they should not be punished.

    Presiding Magistrate, Aizegbemhi Williams, however gave the convicts an option of N20, 000.00 fine.

    Relatives of the convicted drivers were seen making efforts to pay the fine at a designated bank while some complained that they do not have money.

    Public Relations Officer for Edo State, DSP Osifo Abiodun,  stated that the action was to serve as deterrent to drivers who contravened traffic rules and regulations.

    DSP Osifo disclosed that 46 vehicles have been impounded and their drivers arrested since last week when police intensified clampdown on traffic violators in Benin City.

  • Stopping truck drivers’ recklessness

    SIR, a few days ago, I watched with dismay an utter display of lawlessness and irrational behaviour by truck drivers and I had to ask myself the question – when will this recklessness and road terrorism end in our country?

    Many people seem to feel the same way with the attitude shown by these notorious drivers. It is a known fact that trucks on Nigerian roads are habitually found to indulge in over-loading, over-speeding, carrying unsecured containers, lane indiscipline, using rickety vehicles, driving with worn-out tyres and lack safety equipment, among other offences.

    These acts of lawlessness do not end there. The drivers’ penchant for violating traffic rules and regulations is alarming. Their attitude to vehicle maintenance is scarcely anything cheering. They compromise the integrity and road-worthiness of their vehicles with impunity and in the process, endanger the safety of other road users at will. What we see on our highways are carcasses of countless tankers, trucks and related articulated vehicles and reminding us of the abuse to which our public utilities have been subjected to in terms of decrepit highways and poorly maintained infrastructure such as telephone booths, railings, electricity and bridges.

    The main issues to contend with have to do with attitudinal prob­lem on the part of the drivers as well as the inability of road regulators to enforce the extant laws so as to punish traffic offenders.

    The FRSC needs to intensify efforts at addressing the continuous recklessness by curtailing the bad driving habits as well as the negative attitude of truck and trailer drivers through its four cardinal programmes of education, enlightenment, subtle force and full enforcement.

    Stemming the tide demands nothing short of strict enforcement of relevant traffic rules. Poor standardization of rules, weak and compromised enforcement, as well as dubious benchmarks for certifying both vehicles and users constitue a major obstacle for our road administrators to tackle.

    All tankers operating in the country should be made to compulsorily use retroflective tapes to ensure better sighting and anticipation of long vehicles when light from other ve­hicles are beamed on them, most especially at night when they usually break-down at dangerous spots when visibility is poor. Other law enforcement agencies should also assist in ensuring safe­ty on our roads. What they need to do, as a matter of urgency, is to desist from collecting bribe from the drivers. Furthermore, the ages of the vehicles in an economy such as ours may be an issue, but of greater concern is the mainte­nance and road-worthiness. Government should not allow the importation of rickety vehicles into the country under any guise.

    FRSC should put more efforts at engaging the various transport unions on the need for their members to be law-abiding and comply with the traffic rules and regulations. The commission should ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders at mobile courts for reckless and dangerous driving, speed limit violation, among other traffic offenses. More importantly, government should also ensure that our railways begin to function without delay. When this is done, most of the articulated vehicles that are seen wreaking havoc on our roads would no longer have any business in doing so.

    The government should muster the political-will to tame the cabal that has made our railways non-functional despite the huge national resources committed to this troubled aspect of our economy over the years. Perhaps, that could be a more pragmatic solution to stopping recklessness by truck drivers on our roads!

    • Adewale Kupoluyi 

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • Truck owners, drivers, decry extortion at Lagos ports

    Some truck drivers operating at the Lagos ports on Friday in Lagos expressed concern over extortion by the government agencies at the ports.

    The drivers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the extortion was responsible for the unending vehicular traffic in the ports’ vicinity.

    A driver, Mr Sadiq Alade, told NAN that, the situation had made loading of cargoes at the Tin-Can Island’s first and second gates a nightmare for both drivers and transport agents.

    “The mere mentioning of loading of cargoes in any of these points sends fear into the drivers.

    “There are various operatives collecting illegal levies at the gates,’’ Alade said.

    A truck driver, Mr Emeka Okoroafor, said extortion usually generate argument between drivers and collectors of the illegal levies.

    “The amount collected ranged from N200 to N500 and in some cases, the amount goes to N5, 000; depending on the time and the size of the cargo,’’ he said.

    According to him, such levies are making transactions at the ports very difficult and expensive.

    The drivers appealed to the ports authority to harmonise the levies to facilitate loading of cargoes at the ports without stress.
    A transport contractor at Sapid Bonded Terminal, Mr Jacob Itado, lamented the high level of extortion at ports.

    Itado expressed regret that in spite of constant disagreement between the parties, the menace (extortion) had come to be a tradition that drivers had to contend with at the ports.

    “It is only when such illegal levy collectors are out of the scene that free flow of vehicular traffic will be enjoyed,’’ he told NAN.

    The Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said that extortion had become a norm at the ports.

    Ogungbemi said the rates collected in the night tagged “peak period’’, were usually higher than in day time.

    He said the association was helpless in this situation.

  • NURTW urges drivers on traffic law

    NURTW urges drivers on traffic law

    The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, yesterday warned commercial drivers against violating traffic laws.

    He described as a welcome development, the decision by the Lagos State government to stop the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) from impounding vehicles.

    The government last week ordered LASTMA to release to their owners, seized vehicles and should henceforth impose fines on offenders.

    Agbede said the decision would make drivers more responsible.

    He said a task force had been mandated to ensure sanity on the roads by promoting free flow of traffic.

     

  • VIO to motorists: Remain alert while driving

    VIO to motorists: Remain alert while driving

    Musa Dagara of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), Abuja, on Tuesday advised motorists in the territory to maintain high level of concentration and alertness while driving.

    Dagara said doing such would go a long way in reducing the spate of accidents on the roads.

    He also advised drivers to avoid making phone calls while on the wheels, and to regulate their speed.

    “We always advise drivers to ensure that they maintain high degree of alertness and concentration while on the wheels.

    “We observe that some drivers go as far as making phone calls and even browsing on their mobile phones while driving.

    “This is very dangerous and it exposes them to accidents on the roads, “he said.
    Dagara spoke against the backdrop of a ghastly car crash which occurred at the bridge before Wuse 2 , recently

    “The course of the accident was speeding and dangerous overtaking by the driver.

    “Such accidents are avoidable if drivers are more careful and obey traffic regulations,’’ he said.

    He added that three occupants of the Ford Sports car involved in the accident were critically injured and were rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Abuja

  • Commercial drivers protest naked in Rivers

    It was a horrific and warlike scene in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Saturday when commercial drivers, conductors and sympathisers violently protested naked on major roads and streets.
    They protested while confronting hoodlums at Rumueprikom, Port Harcourt hometown of Governor Nyesom Wike, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
    Trouble started around 12.20 p.m. on Friday at Whimpy Junction, along the ever-busy Ikwerre Road when a policeman on stop-and-search duty from the Kala Police Station, Rumueprikom shot and killed a bus driver, David Legbara, over N100 bribe.
    The late Legbara, an Ogoni man from Uegewe-Boue in Tai LGA of Rivers state was the only son and the bread winner of his family, who recently got married, with the wife eight months pregnant.
    The killing sparked off spontaneous protest from other commercial drivers, conductors and sympathisers, who saw the action of the policeman as unjustifiable.
    The protest spilled to major highways, causing traffic dislocation and pains to members of the public.
    Loading of intra-city and inter-state passengers was halted, as motorists, pedestrians, commuters groaning, trekking long distances and scampering to safety to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
    Having briefly protested on Friday evening, the drivers, conductors and their sympathisers were fully mobilised Saturday morning and they headed for the notorious Rumueprikom on Ikwerre Road, just before Rumuokwuta Roundabout in Port Harcourt, with the intention of razing the Kala Divisional Police Headquarters.
    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Kala police headquarters promptly mobilised the policemen from the station, who confronted the protesters, leading to violence and confusion, with bullets flying all over.
    The roads and streets were quickly deserted, while commercial and economic activities came to a halt for some hours.
    In spite of the gunshots and teargas from the policemen to disperse the angry protesters, they were undeterred and continued to march to the Kala police station.
    Police reinforcement was immediately drafted to contain the situation which was later brought under control.
    The aggrieved protesting drivers and conductors then decided to completely strip, walking on the Port Harcourt’s major roads stark naked, without any pant or underwear.
    The unnamed killer policeman was promptly disarmed, arrested and detained, while the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, immediately ordered full-scale investigation into the circumstances and ramifications of the incident.
    The killer cop is to be charged to court on conclusion of investigation.

  • FRSC tries 209 drivers for ‘indiscipline’

    FRSC tries 209 drivers for ‘indiscipline’

    •453 heavy duty vehicles arrested

    No fewer than 453 heavy duty vehicles were impounded and 209 drivers tried for road indiscipline by the Federal Road Safety Corps during a week long exercise tagged: Operation Scorpion.

    The exercise which ended last Friday, was co-ordinated by the Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states Command.

    FRSC’s chief Boboye Oyeyemi said Operation Scorpion  focused on the eradication or reduction of accidents caused by heavy duty vehicles.

    Offences for which the drivers were tried ranged from driving with worn-out tyres, fake drivers’ licence, driving unlatched/unhooked container trucks, lane indiscipline, rickety vehicles and overloading.

    Oyeyemi said the Corps was  implementing the resolution jointly agreed on by stakeholders in the transportation industry.

    According to him, it is one of the major strategies aimed at ensuring full compliance with road rules and regulations to prevent crashes.

    The Corps, he said, has been in consultation with various unions leaders on the need for their members to comply with traffic rules to make the roads crash-free.

    “We have being engaging all haulage operators at the National summit held in Abuja. We had a four-page resolution to implement to end the indiscipline, one of which is the scorpion’s operation which is to checkmate the impunity of drivers driving unlatched or unsecured trucks on the road, he said.

    He added: “The road regulations are very clear and the FRSC is not reinventing the wheel or bringing in a new law.

    “Last week, the Corps promised that we are relocating to Lagos to begin the enforcement on the Lagos-Ibadan corridor, which is a major traffic hub for the heavy duty vehicles.

    “With the cooperation of stakeholders, the Corps should at the end of the year record a change in the attitude and approach of vehicle owners and their drivers on the road.”

    Boboye said tankers, trucks/trailers must attain a minimum road worthy standard, while the drivers are expected to be safety conscious and possess valid licence before embarking on any journey.

    According to him, the Corps is not after arrest and prosecution or fine but to ensure that vehicle owners and drivers correct the mistakes that usually lead to crashes on the roads. He added that the new FRSC’s philosophy is to ensure moving trucks/trailers with fractures are arrested and prosecuted. The Corps insists that proper maintenance must be done before the vehicle is released to enable the driver ‘sin no more’.

    He said the FRSC has partnered with the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and Police, to ensure the full investigation of anyone caught with fake drivers’ licence and to ensure all rickety trucks/trailers are evacuated from the road.

    Boboye, appealed to stakeholders, union leaders to continue to cooperate with the Corps to enable it tackle road indiscipline.

    He urged vehicle owners and drivers to install speed limiter in their vehicles, saying no one would be spared when the enforcement begins on September 1.

    Boboye pledged to increase the minimum fine of infractions by hydraulic vehicles drivers to N50,000 instead of N5,000 to serve as deterrent to others.

    He appealed to media practitioners to continue to assist the Corps in broadcasting the road safety proclamation, saying the special operation will be a continuous exercise.

    Flagging off the exercise earlier, the Lagos and Ogun States Zonal Commander, Assistant Corps Marshal Nseobong Charles Akpabio, said the special operation was meant to make the highways safe for all road users and aimed at ensuring that operators of the heavy duty vehicles abide by traffic rules and regulations to prevent fatal accidents.

    He said the special operation was organised following the incessant crashes of the articulated trucks/trailers.

    According to Akpabio, the Corps would be deploying all its human and material resources to ensure compliance to traffic rules by the “kill and go” drivers.

    He noted that the bad habit of the hydraulic vehicles’ drivers on the road is becoming unbearable and the recent pain and suffering of some Nigerians as a result of the falling tankers laden with fuel and unlatched containers.

    Akpabio said to achieve the goals of the operation, all functional patrol, rescue and recovery vehicles in all the units, sectors and zonal commands have been mobilised and deployed.

    He added that the operation which is going on simultaneously in six commands in Lagos, five in Ogun and five in Oyo is complemented with mobile courts constituted by the concerned states’ judiciary at strategic points on the Lagos-Ibadan corridor.

    He urged the drivers to always drive on the lane prescribed by the traffic law. “It is not a good driving habit to drive in the middle of the speed lane. The right hand lane, Akpabio said, is meant for overtaking; last one on the right is the service lane. Therefore, it is advisable for drivers to drive fast when overtaking, while the left lane is for speeding vehicles,” he added.

    Akpabio warned drivers against patronising touts or second party in the procurement of driver’s licence. “Whoever gives money to individuals to obtain driver’s licence will end up getting a fake,” he said.

    According to him, the Corps is set to open drivers’ licence centres at the fuel depots in Lagos, Suleja, Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt, to enable the drivers procure their original drivers’ licence at the normal rate of N6,350 only.

    Akpabio thanked the law enforcement agencies, such as DSS, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other stakeholders in road safety matters, saying their collaboration with the Corps will restore orderliness in trailers and trucks operations on the roads.

    The national Chairman of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, pledged the owners and drivers’ loyalty to the corps, saying AMATO will always comply with traffic rules.

    He urged the government to repair bad roads, saying the deplorable conditions of the roads are negatively affecting the capacity of vehicle owners to repair and maintain their vehicles.

    He also urged the government to ensure that all routes in which fake vehicle parts are imported into the country are blocked.

    He said: “In as much as we are willing to work with the FRSC to ensure safety, I am using this medium to appeal to the various agencies that are in charge of the road maintenance to help the masses repair all the bad roads.

    “The deplorable conditions of the road are some of the major reasons why we see containers falling here and there, so let the agencies in charge of the road do their best in repairing them.”

  • Photo: FRSC’s free medical check for drivers in Benin

    Photo: FRSC’s free medical check for drivers in Benin

    FRSC'S FREE MEDICAL CHECKS AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION FOR DRIVERS OF ARTICULATED VEHICLES AND TRUCKS AS PART OF ACTIVITIES TO MARK THE FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY CORPS (FRSC) "OPERATION SCORPION" IN BENIN ON MONDAY
    FRSC’S FREE MEDICAL CHECKS AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION FOR DRIVERS OF ARTICULATED VEHICLES AND TRUCKS AS PART OF ACTIVITIES TO MARK THE FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY CORPS (FRSC) “OPERATION SCORPION” IN BENIN ON MONDAY
  • LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS Asset Management Company, operators of Lagos metropolitan red buses yesterday said that it was ready to engage more females as drivers in its fleet.

    Mr Babatunde Disu, the Managing Director of LAGBUS, gave this indication in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Disu noted that female drivers were more caring and careful, adding that being gender sensitive,would facilitate the realisation of the mandate of the company.

    “We are interested in getting more female drivers because they take good care of our buses and are more careful on the roads.

    “We want more of them to come into the system; we are calling on those who are interested to apply,’’ he said.

    Disu also said that the company was ready to train any lady or woman, who was interested in driving the metropolitan buses.

    He said that successful ones would be certified by the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) before a bus would be allocated them.

    Meanwhile, one of the female bus drivers, Rose Joseph, a mother of two, has urged passenger to see them as a professional and always encourage them.

    “Area boys and men on uniform harass us, sometimes at non-designated bus stops, sometimes when we are trying to help passengers.

    “Although its challenging, but you need to be focused and determined; the management even gave some considerations to women,’’ Joseph said.

    Mrs Abimbola Agbekola, an accountant and a graduate from University of Lagos, also a driver, urged females to join the programme and make living from it, adding that “what a man can do, a woman can do better.”

    Agbekola said driving articulated vehicles, such as the LAGBUS, was a way of empowering the female gender.

    “My husband saw the advert in a road show organised by the management, and he told me when he got back home, and advised me to apply because he knows I have passion for driving.

    “You may not have driving skill but management of LAGBUS will train you and you will be certified by LASDRI.

    “I have passion for it, so I do not listen to what the passengers say, but try to be focused.

    “This is an opportunity for female gender to empower themselves and make life better, instead of waiting for their husband to do everything for them,” she said.