The war against overspeeding, drunk driving and other reckless activities of motorists may soon be over, courtesy of the introduction of modern tools to test drivers’ alcohol level by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), write ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE and OLALEKAN AYENI
FOR men and officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), this may be the best season.
This is because, for the first time in decades, the agency was able to get evidence-based data on the impact of its multi-sectoral enlightenment campaigns against recklessness on the roads.
The FRSC zone 2 comprising Lagos and Ogun States), among other critical zones across the country, provided its officers with modern tools, such as breathalysers and speed guns, to enforce safe, defensive driving, on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and other major roads in the zone during the yuletide.
Though the implementation was largely sample-based testing, where drivers were randomly stopped and tested, the results, which, according to sources, are still being collated, have given room to cheer by the Corps.
With the breathalysers, Corps operatives conducted test on drivers, from saloon cars, to midi-buses, maxi or luxury buses, trucks, trailers, containerised vehicles and the sampled results were saved on the memory of the equipment from where it could be analysed or printed for legal action or documentation.
On the success of the seven-week exercise, which took place between last December 8, and January 17, the Zonal Commander, Mr Charles Nse-Obong Akpabio, said of the 369 drivers sampled in the two states, 356 (96.5 per cent were men and 13 (3.5 percent), were women.
Those with drivers’ licence were 347 which was 94 per cent; those caught without a valid drivers’ document were 22 (six per cent).
Further stratification of the classes of the tested drivers, according to Akpabio, showed that 142 commercial bus drivers ranked the highest (38.5 per cent), followed by private car drivers 136, (36.9 per cent), while 50 articulated vehicle drivers (13.6 percent were also tested. He added that one tricyle driver (0.3 per cent), was also tested.
Further breakdown of the total number of sampled drivers showed that 40 Pick Up vehicle drivers (10.8 percent) were tested private vehile drivers (owner/driver) was 137 (37.1 per cent), while 230 (62.3 per cent) drivers, drive one commercial vehicle or the other, and government vehicle drivers tested were 2 (0.5 per cent) of total sampled.
The sampled drivers, Akpabio disclosed, came up with interesting revelations. While a total of 43 (11.7 percent) drivers proved positive of driving under the influence of alcohol or one form of drugs or the other, 326 (38.3 percent) drivers proved negative to drunk driving.
“Of the total number of drivers that proved positive to alcohol while driving, 11 (25.6 percent) were within the globally acceptable standard of having 0.05 alcohol in their blood system, while 32 others (74.4 percent) have an alcohol intake exceeding the approved standard, Akpabio stated.
He disclosed that the 32 affected drivers had their vehicles impounded by men of the FRSC, while the offenders of the law were charged to court for testing positive to alcohol.
He disclosed that all vehicles impounded were not released until after the drivers fully paid the fines ordered by the court and not until they have been certified sober and in a better frame of mind to drive on the roads.
Akpabio traced the success of the pilot programme to the sustained don’t drink and drive enlightenment campaign by the FRSC and its multi-sectoral collaborators especially all the leading beer brewering industries in Nigeria, adding that the campaign which was taken to several states across the country was able to promote voluntary compliance as many drivers stayed away from alcohol intake before they sat behind the wheel.
He admitted that the success was however raised to a very high pitch because of the application of modern tools to accurately test drivers of alcohol level intake.
He praised the “perfect and accuracy” of the breathalysers, for the success of this year’s exercise, adding that the FRSC however lacked the capacity to introduce the exercise across the country because of the dearth of the tools.
“These tools, especially the breathalysers are still hugely in short supply. If not for the timely support given by some corporate organisations who rose to the occasion by purchasing some of these tools and handing them to us, we might not have covered the areas where these tools were used during the yuletide,” the FRSC zonal chief added.
Akpabio praised the collaboration of all other security agencies with the FRSC during the exercise, adding that the collaboration led to the prompt arrest and trial of all offenders at the mobile courts. He added that the synergy improved and enhanced service delivery.
Speaking in an interview with The Nation, the Sector Commander Hyginus Omeje, said though the collation is still ongoing, the success recorded so far has gone to show that the goal of reducing road traffic accidents (RTA) by 15 percent and fatalities (deaths), by 25 percent on the nation’s roads is achievable this year.
He, however, urged other stakeholders and corporate organisations to come to the aide of the safety agency in the procurement of essential tools for the enforcement of safer roads, adding that with the dwindling revenue, the Federal Government may be unable to provide all that is needed to make the agency effective.
“The statistics so far has shown that our vigorous campaigns are having the right and desired impact. Many people are staying away from alcohol when they are on wheel and the practice which is prevalent among commercial drivers with adequate enforcement would be brought under control, if not totally eradicated,” Omeje said.
He added that though the zone has been having such campaigns for a long time , the last exercise was the first time that this impact is being concretely felt. Its a question of time and we are very certain that we would get there. Government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of providing breathalysers for the FRSC, so we would still be appealing to other well meaning corporate bodies to partner with us in making our roads safer and rid the nation of avoidable deaths as a result of our inability to monitor the behaviours of road users.
He said it is often stated that the road is ever patient, but hardly forgives. Nigerians should see the task of keeping the road safe as a collective responsibility and assist the Corps in every way possible to make the roads safe for all users.
He said the Lagos sector is taking the project further and soon, the sector would be able to generate reliable data of the demographics of drivers that fall into those running afoul of the law.
Omeje said: “When we are through, we would be able to put on the public domain the pattern of offenders of the law. We should be able to know if they are motorcyclists, or tricyclists, whether they are saloon car drivers or bus drivers, whether they are school bus drivers or commercial drivers. We should be able to know how many of the drivers drive articulated vehicles, how many drive containerised trucks and how many drive petroleum tankers.”
He said the breathalysers used during the enforcement could record driver’s details, take their pictures, and could save and download each case. These are what we distill in the office to generate a working document for the zone and indeed the country.
He disclosed that the zone would soon finish the compilation and make public its first breathalyser backed report of the Ember months safe road enforcement.
He said the Corps will this year focus on improvement of fleet operations and consolidate on the consultation with stakeholders, collaboration with states to improve road safety administration and improve on public education and aggressive enforcement of traffic regulations.
Earlier, Akpabio had disclosed that the Federal Government has approved April 1,2016 as the commencement date for the enforcement on the implementation of speed limiting devices on all vehicles.
The first phase, he said, will focus on commercial vehicles and haulage vehicles.
He said the Corps has so far identified speeding as a major contributing factor to road crashes and attendant casualties in Nigeria.
To create a safer motoring environment in Nigeria, the commission, with the resolutions reached with Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Automotive Design and Development Council of Nigeria (NADDC), Transport Union Associations and other stakeholders, had initiated strategies to implement and enforce the use of speed limiting devices in vehicles starting with commercial vehicles, nationwide.
The legal framework for the implementation and enforcement of speed limiter for all categories of vehicles in Nigeria is stipulated in Section 10(3) (m) of the FRSC (Est.) Act, 2007 and section 152(4) of National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012. Section 4 (b) of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act of 1971 empowers the SON “to designate, establish and approve standards in respect of metrology, materials, commodities, structures and processes for the certification of products in commerce and industry throughout Nigeria”. In the same vein, the National Automotive Design and Development Council Act, 2014, empowers the National Automotive Development and Design Council to “Regularly study and review the automotive parts/ components development industry in Nigeria.”
The strategy towards ensuring the execution of the policy, the FRSC in conjunction with all the relevant stakeholders and the media, would commence massive public enlightenment to raise awareness amongst the general public. This would be followed up with pre enforcement patrols by FRSC from 01 February to 31 March, 2016, where patrol operatives would stop and check vehicles without speed limiters and advise such vehicle owners to fix the device on their vehicles.
He said the period would also be used to assess the efficacy of the speed limiters installed in vehicles already having speed limiting devices.
He appealed to all vehicle owners, fleet operators, Ministries, Departments and Agencies especially commercial vehicle operators to align with this life-saving initiative by ensuring the installation of speed limiters on their vehicles to curb the wanton carnage on our roads and to avoid arrest and resulting sanctions
He said 16 vendors have so far, been certified by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and FRSC across the country, noting that the agency would focus on the training of its officers and Vehicle Inspection Officers within and outside the country to ensure effective service delivery in Nigeria.
The Commander further said the Corps would also improve the collaboration with media, the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Air force and the general public to enable it fulfil its mandate.
