The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)

  • Osun records 23 deaths in road accidents in April – FRSC

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Osun said 23 deaths were recorded in road accidents in the state in April.

    The Sector Commander of the corps, Mr Umaru Ibrahim, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Osogbo.

    Ibrahim said the 23 crashes involved more than 391 persons.

    He attributed the incidents to speeding, poor condition of the roads as well as failure by motorists to comply with traffic rules and regulations.

    According to him, 99 persons were injured during the accidents, while 118 road traffic offenders were booked.

    Ibrahim said, 12 radio programmes and Television programmes were embarked upon to sensitise the public on road usage.

    The sector commander called on motorists to comply with road safety rules, adding that the agency was committed to securing lives on the roads.

  • FRSC advises motorists to use good wipers, tyres as rainy season commences

    FRSC advises motorists to use good wipers, tyres as rainy season commences

    Mr Yusuf Salami, Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), on Thursday urged motorists to ensure that they had good wipers and tyres as the rainy season commenced.

    Salami gave the advice on Thursday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

    He said that motorists plying the road during rains without good wiper and tyre were endangering their lives and those of other road users.

    He said that good wiper would enable clear visibility of the windscreen during the rain, while vehicle with good tyre would grip well whenever the brake was applied during rain.

    The sector commander advised motorists to park and wait when they felt that they could not move well due to heavy rain than to continue driving and kill themselves.

    Salami condemned a situation whereby parents allowed underage children to drive believing that they were making them comfortable.

    “The corps made it clear to parents that they are putting those children to death.

    “It is an offence for children below 18 years to drive on Nigerian roads because they lack proper knowledge of the rules and regulations on road usage.

    “The corps will continue to check these anomalies and the vehicle of anybody caught will be impounded while the parent of such a child will be invited and fined accordingly.

    “We will also educate such parents on why they should not put the lives of their children in danger because the corps was not interested in the fine but to ensure that lives of road users are safe,’’ Salami said.

    The sector commander advised drivers who were in the habit of drinking alcohol while driving to desist from the act, saying the corps had a machine that could easily detect such driver.

    He said that vehicle of any driver discovered to have taken alcohol would be impounded to deter the driver from driving while drunk.

    “We will let the passengers, if the driver is a transporter, be aware that they are being driven by a drunk as we impound the vehicle.

    “If it is in a place that we can call the union, we would call them to bring another vehicle to carry the passengers,’’ Salami said.

    He said that the corps had been and would continue to engage in series of public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign in motor parks, market places, Mosques and Churches, among others.

    Salami said that the purpose of the campaign was to let the public know why they should abide by the rules and regulations of road usage.

    He said that the corps needed collaboration of members of the public and various unions such as the NURTW to educate the road users as the corps could not do it alone.

  • Black weekend in Aba, 10 feared dead in auto accident

    Black weekend in Aba, 10 feared dead in auto accident

    It was indeed a black weekend for residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State as over 10 persons were reported dead in a ghastly auto accident that occurred on the Ikot-Ekpene-Aba Expressway.

    The accident which was allegedly caused by a truck carry chippings and was heading into Aba also left many commuters and commercial bus drivers injured leaving people to wail uncontrollably.

    The incident attracted crowd and as well caused heavy traffic jam on the expressway, leaving men and Personnel of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with much work of ensuring that there was free flow of human and vehicular movement on the road.

    When our correspondent visited the area, the Mack truck with registration number Bayelsa SAG 115 XA was still at the Waterside Bridge while the commercial bus with registration number Abia EZA 376 YF which was hit by the truck is still trapped beside the Waterside River.

    An eyewitness who narrated the incident to Nation blamed the truck driver for recklessness, stressing that they suspected that the driver who was descending the Ogbor Hill Bridge on a high speed lost control of his vehicle before crashing into the commercial bus and another car in motion, a commercial tricycle and pedestrians on the bridge.

    “The man was coming down the bridge with speed and in the process, lost control of his vehicle. The bus, some keke were here loading their passengers before the accident. The car down the bridge was hit by the truck and the car destroyed the rail before landing into there. I am afraid if there was any passenger inside that car that survived. Another private car was also affected by the accident and I don’t think the passengers survived.

    “The people affected were about 20 or more about 10 persons died. Many people sustained injuries because it happened during the rush hour when the road is always busy with vehicular activities.”

    The eyewitness said that the whereabouts of the truck driver and his conductor were unknown, stressing that they could have abandoned their truck and took to their heels.

    “If the truck driver and the conductor were sighted by the crowd, am sure that they would have been lynched by the crowd who it took the presence of the police and other security agencies to stop them from setting the truck ablaze.

    However, a staff of the FRSC Aba who crave anonymity gave the number of people involved in the accident as 21; 8 females and 13 males.

    According to the source, 10 males and 8 females were injured while three persons died as a result of the accident.

    The source said that the injured persons were receiving medical attention in one of the private hospitals along the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Expressway. This is even as the source credited the cause of the accident to reckless driving.

     

  • Police arrest three over mob attack on FRSC

    Police arrest three over mob attack on FRSC

    Three persons have been arrested in connection with a recent mob attack on a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) at Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra, the agency said.

    In a statement issued in Abuja, Spokesman’s of the FRSC, Mr Bisi Kazeem, said the suspects were arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Anambra State Police Command.

    According to him, the three are suspected to be part of the mob that attacked the FRSC personnel after an offending commercial motorcyclist fell while trying to evade arrest by the team.

    Earlier, there was speculation on the Internet that the FRSC patrol team was mobbed for allegedly demanding bribe at Ichida also in Anambra.

    But Kazeem issued a statement, dismissing the rumour as not correct.

    “The true position is that an offending Okada man who sighted our personnel on normal patrol, suddenly turned to escape arrest and fell in the process.

    “His fall attracted sympathy from miscreants and other Okada men who then seized the opportunity to mob the personnel,” he said.

    Kazeem said efforts were being made to apprehend “the other miscreants and ‘Okada’ riders for prosecution”.

    Reacting to the arrests, Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, commended the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Command in Anambra for their prompt action.

    Oyeyemi enjoined them to fish out others at large for prosecution so as to serve as deterrent to potential offenders.

    “The Corps Marshal said the FRSC would continue to cooperate with other sister agencies in the discharge of its statutory
    duties.

    “He added that the Corps would no longer tolerate the harassment, assault and victimisation of its personnel on flimsy excuses and trivial issues,” Kazeem said.

     

  • FRSC warns truck drivers against overloading

    FRSC warns truck drivers against overloading

    The Lagos State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Hyginus Omeje has warned articulated vehicle drivers against loading their vehicles above bridge heads  and electrical installations.

    Omeje gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

    He said that some trucks in the city centre usually took the risk of carrying containers or loads that were higher than electrical cables, foot and flyover bridges.

    The FRSC boss said that such truck drivers use long poles or sticks to lift electrical cables, saying that they risked being electrocuted.

    Omeje advised truck drivers to stop the dangerous habits, saying their action was capable of destroying pedestrian bridges and other installations.

    “We have always cautioned those engaged in carrying too much load within streets, it cannot occur on the major highways except around Badagry.

    “On the Badagry axis, we have had some cases where they will cross the Nigerian border and add excess load when they get to the trade fair area.

    “It resulted in one or two crashes in the past but ever since then, we have put eagle eyes on them – articulated vehicles, along with other security agencies.

    “When we see such kind of load, we stop them and make sure they reduce it. Some of them carry out such acts mostly at night.

    “The height of the vehicles is usually not the problem because the manufacturers built them to specifications which considered the bridges but the excess load is what causes the problems.

    “It is an offence, it is not negotiable, if we get to see such drivers carrying loads higher than bridges, we impound the vehicle,” Omeje told NAN.

    The sector commander said that some of the offenders use the cover of the night to overload the vehicles.

    He said that the command was presently implementing a policy that discouraged articulated vehicles from using bridges.

    According to him, such vehicles are being encouraged to use service lanes to reduce incidences of fallen containers.

    Omeje added that the FRSC was collaborating with Lagos State Mobile Courts to prosecute offenders and force drivers to latch their containers.

    “Under the Lagos State Traffic Law, 2012, the fine for unlatched containers is N250,000.

    “We have been slamming the fine on them and it has got to the brim for them that they are now taking precaution,” he said.

  • FRSC holds special Easter patrol in Plateau

    FRSC holds special Easter patrol in Plateau

    The Plateau Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has commenced a special Easter patrol on highways across the state.

    The Corps Public Education Officer of the command, Mr Andrew Bala disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Friday.

    According to him, the special patrol is meant to ensure free flow of traffic and safety of lives and property during the Easter.

    “All officers and men in all the units’ command under this sector have been deployed to strategic routes for the Easter special patrol.

    “As we all know, the Easter break is a long one and a lot of people will travel to celebrate with their loved ones and so the roads will be very busy.

    “So, the aim of the special patrol is to ensure free flow of traffic and accident-free celebration,’’ he said.

    Bala urged motorists to desist from speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking and disobedience to other traffic rules and regulations.

    He implored all road users to support the corps in its bid to rid the highways of accidents.

  • 11 die in Kogi auto crash

    At least eleven people lost their lives Wednesday in a ghastly motor accident at Ohiana area, along the Okene-Auchi road in Kogi State.

    An eyewitness  account corroborated by the Okene Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), had it that the accident which ocured around 6am resulted from a head-on collision between a Toyota Hiace bus marked Delta AYB 939 XP, belonging to Big Joe Transport Company and a cement laden trailer.

    The unit commander, Dr Sunday Ogungbemi said that preliminary investigation revealed that the Toyota bus with 22 passengers on board was heading to Warri from Abuja when the accident occurred.

    He disclosed that the investigation showed that the accident might have been caused by over-speeding by the driver of the bus who lost control and crashed into the trailer truck that was coming from Okpella in Edo State.

    The commander, whose unit carried out the evacuation of the victims stated that 11corpses were deposited at the morgue of the Okene General Hospital, while 11 other passengers that survived sustained various degree of injuries and have been taken to the hospital in Okene for medical attention.

    He cautioned motorists not to see the road as a race track for unhealthy competition, adding that the accident has again justified reasons the FRSC is canvassing for the installation of speed limit device on vehicles, in order to mitigate unnecessary deaths on our roads.

    He called on road users to be more careful during the Easter season, and advised passengers not to leave their fate in the hands of drivers.

  • Easter: FRSC intensifies highway patrol in Abuja

    Easter: FRSC intensifies highway patrol in Abuja

    Ahead of the Easter celebrations, the FCT Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it is beefing up its presence on highways in the territory.

    The move, according to the Sector Commander, Mr Sunday Oghenekaro, is to ensure effective management of anticipated rise in traffic volume on the routes within the period.

    “We are deploying more personnel and logistics on the City Gate, Giri-Gwagwalada and Mararaba-Nyanya axis to effectively handle the expected high volume of traffic.

    “We are also mobilising to the Dutsen Alhaji-Bwari end because some people will be going through that axis to Kaduna.

    “So, those areas should be well fortified to ensure that travelers have smooth and safe passage,’’ he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Oghenekaro advised motorists and other road users to obey traffic rules and regulations, and cooperate with traffic management and security agencies.

    On Tuesday, the national headquarters of the Corps announced the deployment of 25,000 personnel and 869 vehicles nationwide for a special patrol to enhance road safety during the Easter celebrations.

    The deployment includes 267 motorcycles, 106 ambulances and 22 tow trucks for the five-day exercise which begins on Thursday.

    Meanwhile, the Acting Controller of the FCT Fire Service, Mr Julius Opetunsi, has advised residents to be fire safety conscious during the period.

    Opetunsi urged them to turn off their electrical appliances before leaving home and endeavour to contact the service early in the event of fire outbreaks.

     

  • FRSC decries incessant violation of traffic rules in Abuja

    Mr Sunday Oghenekaro, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday, decried the incessant violation of traffic rules in Abuja.

    Oghenekaro, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, said that residents of the territory were hiding under the present economic hardship to violate traffic rules.

    For instance, he frowned at the use of private vehicles for commercial purposes, which he said, was unlawful.

    “The man using the private car for commercial purpose will tell you, “I have lost my job; how else do you want me to feed?

    “But the question is, have you done the right thing? The fact that you have lost your job does not mean you should do wrong things.

    “Of course, we know that times are hard but that should not make us to indulge in doing things that are at variance with public safety and security.

    “When people continue to use their private cars for commercial purpose, it gives room for criminal elements to pretend to be those, who are also operating ‘kabu-kabu’ to transport commuters,’’ he said.

    Oghenekaro, who also condemned the non usage of pedestrian bridges by commuters, faulted the habit of boarding or alighting from vehicles at non designated bus-stops.

    The commander added that the sector was already expanding its sensitisation campaign to churches and mosques.

     

  • FRSC begins clampdown on unlatched containers — Official

    The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the corps would soon resume full enforcement on articulated vehicles whose containers are not properly latched.

    Oyeyemi disclosed this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during his ongoing traffic assessment on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday.

    He said that the major concern of the FRSC was to prevent the trailers and flat belt containers from falling unnecessarily.

    “Our major concern has to do with the flat belt trailers because in 2015, we started the enforcement in which over 3,000 trailers were impounded.

    “We later entered into an agreement with their union executives on full compliance but recently, we just discovered some non-compliance among the trailer drivers.

    “Enforcement is supposed to be a deterrent, such that if you don’t want to be penalised, you have to stay away from violating traffic rules and regulations.

    “We are resuming full enforcement of the flat belt trailers and containers that are not properly latched to the vehicles,’’ he said.

    The Corps Marshal said that the enforcement would also focus on the quality of tyres of the trailers, trucks and other articulated vehicles.

    Oyeyemi said that the corps had decided that every vehicle had to comply with minimum safety standards, in term of tyres and other safety gadgets.

     

    “Using fake and second hand tyres is an act of irresponsibility, which must be stopped.

    “Enough is enough of wasting the lives of innocent persons unnecessarily on the highways.

    “Motorists must produce effective C-caution signs; gone are the days when vehicles used leaves, stones and tyres as C-caution signs.

    “Tyres, for instance, are not reflective as warning signs and I have warned those still using them on the implications,’’ the Corps Marshal added.