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Tag: FRSC

  • FRSC: Optometrists call for establishment of eye test centre

    The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) on Monday called on the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to set up Eye Test Departments at all FRSC Command Units.

    The Chairman of NOA in Anambra, Dr Chigozie Umeh, gave the recommendation when members of its executive visited Mr Sunday Ajayi, the Sector Commander of FRSC at the State Command Headquarters in Awka.

    The visit is part of the activities in preparation for the  2018 “World Sight Day’’ on Oct. 11 with theme as:  “Universal Eye Health”.

    Umeh said that the call was part of  efforts to ensure healthy sight for all road users.

    Read Also:Court sentences reckless driver to death for killing FRSC official

    “Achieving 100 per cent eye defect-free road users will go a long way in addressing crashes associated with bad sights.

    “NOA has seen the importance of good eye sight in driving and prevention of road traffic accident, hence, it  has deemed it necessary to partner with FRSC.

    “We, the NOA Anambra chapter, recommend the establishment of Optometric Run/Man Eye Clinic across all your unit commands.

    “This will not only serve to identify drivers with deficient vision but  also generate revenue for the command, as drivers seeking to acquire drivers’ licence will pay for eye test and screening,” he said.

    Umeh said the implementation of the recommendation would also create employment for members of the association and translate to better eye care for more people in the society.

    He said there was also need to create eye department in all Primary Health Care Centres in the country as part of the effort to achieve global eye health target.

    Responding, Ajayi said the FRSC was already in partnership with the association of  which already has yielding positive results.

    The sector commander observed that most drivers had defective sight but said they were not willing to submit themselves to checks because they fear their licences would be withdrawn.

    “We are in partnership already and it has been yielding positive results here in Anambra; on our part, we are ready to sustain that relationship.

    “I must observe that most drivers on our highway do not have good sight, but instead of going for test and correction, they go about managing it and subject road users to danger.

    “They think that if we detect them, we will withdraw their drivers’ licence, but that is not true;  they can correct their sights and still be on the road,” he said.

    Ajayi said that beyond poor sight, there are other avoidable factors that cause crashes.

    According to him, they include the use of phones while driving, bad tyre, speeding and over loading

  • FRSC to drivers: plan your journey

    The Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Hyginus Omeje, has blamed articulated vehicle drivers for not considering bad roads while behind the wheel.

    He said they are expected to obey traffic rules that will guarantee other road users’ safety.

    Omeje, responding to questions yesterday on Faaji FM 106.5, Lagos on the factors responsible for crashes involving trucks and ways to curb them, said bad roads and poor condition of vehicles were responsible for high rate of accidents.

    He said drivers must plan their journey in accordance with the conditions of the roads, noting that the government was doing its best to rehabilitate roads.

    Omeje said the majority of the vehicles were not roadworthy, adding: “Despite this, drivers overload such vehicles and over speed.”

    He urged them to stop driving under the influence of alcohol, saying they should not drive when they are tired or feeling sleepy.

    The commander hailed the Federal Government for awarding roads for construction.

  • 74 FRSC officials killed in 18 months, says Boboye

    .Commission to impose stiffer penalties on offenders
    .As stakeholders demand roads rehabilitation

    Seventy-four Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) officials have been killed by reckless drivers in the last 18 months, Corps Marshal Oyeyemi Boboye said on Wednesday.

    He spoke at the Haulage and Logistics Magazine Annual Conference and Exhibition (HULMACE) held in Lagos.

    Boboye who warned that the commission would stop at nothing to bring killers of his personnel to justice, added that plans were already on for road traffic offenders to be meted stiffer punishment.

    “In the last 18months I have lost about 74 lives. We will not stop at ensuring the prosecution of those errand drivers. It is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my personnel on the highway, so if you knock down my personnel and you are running away, I will go after you,” said Boboye.

    Explaining further, the Corps Marshal said it was discovered during the Sallah patrols that 30 percent of articulated vehicle drivers do not see at night.

    “During the last Sallah festival we observed that most drivers do not see well at night, it is the motor boys that drive them. So, we conducted vision test on the highway and motor parks and we observed that 30 percent of the articulated vehicle drivers have vision problem and that is also contributing to the crashes.

    “We discovered during interview session that they are to use glasses because they think they will lose their jobs. Employers should be training their drivers and encourage them with glasses to enhance driving skills.
    He said: “We have observed and presented the report and we hope the employers will be able to address this. We have communicated this to the owners. When drivers have vision problem, they should go to optometrist who will refer them to optamlogist to correct their sights.

    “We are also talking to them on the need to have speed limit control on their vehicles. The price has come down to N15,000 so the noise about cost isn’t valid anymore.”

    Boboye said a great number of drivers did not know how to drive, blaming driving schools for not leaving up to expectation.

    He said: “We presently have 1,450 registered driving schools and over 500 were suspended due to malpractices and not following the process. This led to the commission suggesting to the 36 state government to set up modern driving schools in order to checkmate some of these offences.

    “Traffic regulation provides that when a driver accumulates 10, 15 or 21 points, he’s to be sent back to the driving school for re-training, but the present driving schools have not provided enough platform for retraining those drivers for specific offences.

    “I am happy to have received positive responses from some state governments because it is another means of IGR for them.”
    Earlier, the Managing Director of A&A Global Leasing Services, Mrs. Oluwaseye Yomi-Soleye appealed to governments at all levels to rehabilitate roads noting that the state of the roads were making elongating trips and causing untold hardships.

    “This is a major challenge for haulers. We will like the Federal Government to please look into this.

    “We do not allow night driving in my company. As a matter of policy, all our drivers pack their vehicles once it’s 7pm. I think the problem of lack of training is mostly with those unprofessional haulers on the streets.

    “We train our drivers regularly and do recertification. They have to go through these trainings before they can be allowed to enter the premises of our clients.

    “We have standard trackers, speed limiters on all our vehicles to ensure compliance from our drivers. They are not to drive above 60km/ hour. Aside that, we have facilities to monitor their behaviours on the wheel.”

    In his remark, the convener of the conference Alfred Okugbeni praised the government for taking steps to emplace intermodal transportation, adding that it was a sure way to reduce road traffic disasters.

    He said: “From what we see, the government is already talking about intermodal. In more developed environment, from the port, we use rail, and from the rail stations we use trucks, for distribution, so that is what we mean by intermodal transportation.

    “The first thing is to look at the law, regarding the rail transportation in Nigeria. I think it is in the exclusive list, something is being done in the National Assembly to address that because in a place like America, we have private companies owning rail tracks, that also helps private companies to have wagon that can be on these rail tracks. So, instead of having a 100 trucks for example, we can have 10 wagons that pull the 100 coaches. They will do the same job. That is what is being proposed at the moment.”

  • ‘Ember’ months: FRSC commences monitoring of vehicles, drivers

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Badagry-Seme Command, on Sunday said that his oficers had commenced the monitoring of vehicles and drivers in different parks before they embark on any  journey during the ’ember’ months.

    The Unit Commander, Mr Fatai Bakare, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry that the programme was to ensure accident free ’ember’ months and beyond.

    According to the unit commander, “We will be going to parks with our paramedics to test drivers before they embark on any  journey.

    “We are going to be practical this time around; this is beyond talking to people, before embarking on a journey, we will do random checking.

    “We are going to check the blood pressure and eye sights of drivers because we believe most of the accidents occur made through human errors.

    “Before you embark on a journey, you have already planned it. How do you describe somebody whose vision is 45 per cent in order and is about to drive a vehicle from Badagry to Kano.

    “How do you describe a situation whereby somebody whose blood pressure is 210 over 140 and is the driver to transport  passengers  on  a long journey?

    “So, we will check the tyres of the vehicle, what is in your brake fluid container? Is it water missed with surf or the recommended brake fluid?

    “We are going to check the whippers, because it is somehow, funny  that some drivers during the  rainy  season will be using their handkerchiefs instead of the whippers to clean their vehicles’ windscreens.

    “This is a form of distraction that is capable of distracting them from driving well on the road,” he said.

  • Osun Election: FRSC deploys 1,500 personnel, 60 vehicles

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Thursday said it had deployed 1,500 personnel, including 60 vehicles to man strategic routes during the election in Osun State.
    This it said was part of additional efforts put in place to ensure compliance with restriction of vehicular movement during the Sept. 22 gubernatorial elections in the state.
    A statement by Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, quoted the Corps Marshal FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi as saying that all measures were being put in place to achieve a hitch free vehicular movement.
    He called on road users, especially those plying the identified routes to note that while Ibadan – Akure express way will be opened for free vehicular movement, vehicles will not be allowed to drive off the highway into Osun state as all connecting roads will be blocked.
    “In the same vein, all roads leading to the state through Iwo, Ila, Orangun, Erin-Ile and others will be temporarily closed from 7a.m to 4p.m on the election day,” he said.
    Oyeyemi also directed the deployement of personnel to mount surveillance, ensure strict compliance to established guidelines, provide intelligence, collaborate with sister agencies and display high level of professionalism in ensuring compliance to the restriction order.
    He advised road users to comply with this partial restriction order, exercise patience and cooperate with law enforcement agents to ensure a peaceful conduct of the elections.
    Kazeem further assured that FRSC was committed to ensuring a safe motoring environment for all road users throughout the exercise.
    He advised the Public to call the FRSC emergency numbers: 122 (Toll Free), 0700-2255-3772 or 0700-CALL-FRSC in case of any emergency, crash or obstruction.

  • FRSC sets date for screening, physical assessment

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has set a date for its screening and physical assessment.

    The Corps stated that recruitment exercise, which commenced on 28 May with the uploading of the application forms on FRSC recruitment portal, is scheduled to be conducted in all State capitals from 24- 29 September.

    Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem in a statement, advised applicants to check their emails used for submission of the applications on Wednesday, September 19 for information on the screening and physical fitness assessment.

    He added: “Shortlisted applicants are to come with the summary data page earlier received and email notification slip which shall admit them to the screening venue.

    “Any candidate without the print out of the summary data page and notification slip for this phase of the exercise shall not be admitted into the screening venue.”

     

  • FRSC sanctions 71 driving schools

    Seventy-one driving schools have been sanctioned and several others are being investigated for professional misconduct, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has said.

    Oyeyemi spoke yesterday during an interactive session with driving schools’ owners in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos states at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

    He said: “Enrolling above the schools’ capacity, illegally graduating trainees without any form of training or with less than 26 mandatory hours is unprofessional.

    “Hacking into Driving School Standardising Programme (DSSP) and connivance with operatives to circumvent conduct of driver testing and licensing processes are also unprofessional conducts.

    “Seventy-one driving schools have recently been sanctioned and others are being investigated over this unprofessional misconducts,” he said.

    According to him, some of the objectives include uniformity in operational procedure of driving schools, formal driver training with standard curriculum and reliable database of registered and accredited standard curriculum.

    The FRSC boss said the introduction of user-friendly computer based final examinations for all qualifying candidates should be applied to address issues of sharp practices currently perpetuated by the operators of the scheme.

    “In line with global best practice, computer based testing of drivers should be adopted which can be domesticated in local languages. It can also be available in audio-visual version for illiterate drivers and will provide a good assessment of applicants. Lagos is taking a lead already in this; other states should key into it,” he said.

    Oyeyeymi also advised the proprietors of the driving schools to maintain the integrity of Nigeria Driver’s Licence as the key to national planning, security and general development.

    He said operators should bear in mind that the ultimate goal was to provide a safe monitoring environment for road users in the country.

    “Our goal is to make the country’s road among the 20 safest in the world by 2020 and all driving schools are advised to properly key into the DSSP and support it towards achieving set goals with the least friction,” Boboye said.

    SERVICOM National Coordinator Mrs Nnena Akejemile, said all instructors working in driving schools must be professional, properly licensed and must be well supervised.

    According to her, no fewer than 2,598 Nigerians died from road accidents between October 2017 and March 2018 from records of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

  • FRSC assures Ogun residents of safer road

    The Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ) has assured the people of Ogun of its commitment to ensure safer roads to reduce carnage to the barest minimum.

    Mr Clement Oladele, the Sector Commander in the state, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ota on Thursday.

    He said that the command had intensified efforts in its public enlightenment campaign and insisting that motorists comply with traffic rules and regulations.

    The sector commander said at least, 820 traffic offenders were apprehended for various offences during the 2018 Eld-El-Kabir celebrations in the state.

    Oladele said the figure was more than 480 traffic offenders apprehended during the same celebration in 2017.

    Read Also: FRSC secures 73 convictions in Akwa Ibom

    “The offenders were arrested for various offences like seat belt violation, tyre violations and failure to install speed limiting device.” he said.

    Oladele also explained that FRSC personnel were able to rescue 39 accident victims from 24 crashes, so far this year, compared to 25 rescued from five crashes in 2017.

    He, however, said that FRSC was able to rescue more accidents victims through special patrol put in place between Aug. 17 to Aug. 26 during the 2018 Eid-el Kabir festival.

  • Sallah holidays: Benue records three deaths, six crashes

    Three people died, while 26 others sustained injuries in six road accidents in Benue during the just-concluded Sallah celebrations.

    The Sector Commander of the FRSC in Benue, Mr David Mendie, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Makurdi in an interview with the News men

    He said that 54 people were also rescued by FRSC patrol teams during the festivities.

    Mendie said that no fewer than 319 motorists were arrested, tried and convicted by a mobile court for committing various traffic offences during the season.

    Read Also: Benue monarch consoles Dickson over mum’s death

    He said that the 319 convicted motorists were out of a total of 344 people caught for various offences.

    The commander said that the most prevalent offences were non-installation of speed limiters, non-possession of driving licence and dangerous driving.

    “We are determined. As usual, to ensure free-flow of traffic, we deployed 134 regular and 20 special marshals in Makurdi during the Sallah,’’ Mendie said.

    The FRSC arrested 4,983 traffic offenders nationwide during the two-day Sallah holidays.

  • Bridge closure: road users applaud agencies on smooth traffic

    Motorists and other road users on Friday poured praises on traffic management agencies for sustaining smooth traffic flow, in spite of the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge.

    The 11.8km bridge was closed to traffic on Aug. 23 for maintenance. The closure had sparked fears that Lagos would face a traffic lock down.

    The ‘investigative maintenance test’ is expected to last for three days between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26.

    A News Agency of Nigeria correspondent monitoring, reports that traffic was smooth on the Lagos-Abeokuta highway from Iyana-Ipaja through Agege Motor Road.

    The correspondent reports that traffic also flowed on Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge through Apongbon to the Lagos Mainland.

    Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), FRSC and the police could be seen directing traffic at various areas, including Ijora Olopa Bus Stop.

    Speaking on the matter, a business woman, Mrs Tosin Amos, told NAN that she experienced free flow of traffic from Dopemu to Idumota Market on the Lagos Island.

    “It is only traffic light that stopped us around Mushin, the road is very free. The people controlling traffic are trying.

    “But I also feel that a lot of people have not returned to Lagos from the sallah holiday,” she said.

    A commercial motorist, Mr Segun Daramola, who plies the Ojo-Alaba to CMS route, told NAN that the free traffic flow was amazing for a city that had witnessed gridlocks for months.

    Daramola said that he drove from Sango-Ota in Ogun to the Island without major obstruction.

    “I am happy that all the roads are free. From Ojo-Alaba down to Costain is free. LASTMA, police and road safety people are everywhere.

    An NURTW official, who oversees Contain Bus Stop and the National Theatre area, Mr Sule Osho, commended the agencies.

    “Look at all the bridges, they are free. There are no congestions on the bridges at all.

    “Congestion on Eko Bridge or Carter Bridge cannot hide, the spillover are always spontaneous but I give kudos to the officials.

    A civil servant, who identified herself simply as Chinwe, said that the roads were free, contrary to fears of road users.

    “I drove all the way from Ago Palaceway to the Island and there was no single traffic snarl. I thank all officials manning traffic on the roads,” she said.

    However, another civil servant, Mr Louis Chukwudubem, attributed the free traffic flow to lower population because some residents had travelled for the sallah holiday and had yet to return.

    “Schools are on holidays and some people that travelled for sallah are not back. All the same, the people directing traffic are working,” he said.

    Assistant Corps Commander of the FRSC, Hauwa Olowookere, told NAN that the success recorded was due to adequate planning.

    She said that a committee, comprising traffic regulatory and law enforcement agencies, set up by the Federal Ministry of Works were working in synergy to ensure free flow of traffic.

    “The traffic control sub-committee set up by the Lagos federal controller of works, FRSC, LASEMA, RLU, Civil Defense, LASTMA, police have been working together to ensure free traffic flow.”

    Olowookere, however, appealed to road users to continue to cooperate with traffic managers and law enforcement agencies to sustain sanity on the roads.