Tag: Sector Commander

FRSC Warns Against Using Expired And Fairly Used Tyres

frsc, fairly used, expired tyresThe Federal Road Safety Corps has organised an awareness programme for commercial drivers against the usage of expired and fairly used tyres, which it said is responsible for most of the accidents along highways in the country.

The sensitization programme on the need for drivers to use right and quality tyres was held at the premises of the Harmony Transport Services, Ilorin.

In his welcome address, the Kwara State Sector Commander, Sunday Maku, urged drivers to change tyres every four years after manufacturing or after 8,000 kilometres.

He advised drivers to change two tyres at once and they should be at the back and not the front as this would allow proper grip on the road.

Also contributing, the Zone 8 Commander of FRSC, John Meheux, during a demonstration, said that wrong usage of tyres and non-usage of quality could easily lead to accidents.

He urged the drivers to always check the manufacturing and expiry date of tyres constantly.

The Corp Marshall of the FRSC represented by Deputy Corp Marshall, Ademola Lawal, while also condemning the usage of fairly used tyres, admitted that the economic situation of the country might not allow people to purchase new ones.

He, however advised the transport unions to form cooperatives to purchase new tyres in bulk for their members.

The Deputy State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Baba Abata, who spoke in Yoruba, challenged the FRSC to ensure that fairly used tyres are not imported to guard against their usage instead of blaming the commercial drivers.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Corps Marshall told Channels Television that the percentage or actual number of deaths, injuries or accidents as a result of the bad tyres could not be given as it was yet to be computed.

FRSC Apprehends 130 Road Offenders In Anambra

Road-Safety-Commission-overloaded-vehicleOfficials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have apprehended and prosecuted over 130 heavy duty truck drivers for sundry offences against road safety during the phase two of the FRSC ‘Operation Scorpion’ exercise in Anambra state.

The exercise led by the State Sector Commander, Mr Sunday Ajayi, targets restoration of sanity on roads in which drivers of articulated vehicles, including lorries, trailers, trucks, tankers and low-bed vehicles, are checked, to ensure their strict compliance with traffic standards in driving such big vehicles.

Mr Ajayi noted that some drivers still drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He advised transporters, especially fleet operators, to ensure that their safety management department was more effective with keeping a tab on their drivers.

The Anambra State Government has banned commercial motorcycles plying the highways and heavy duty truck supplying petroleum products in the daytime, from the beginning of August.

In reaction, some drivers commended the exercise, advising their colleagues to drive with care.

According to road safety tenets, simple obedience to traffic instructions will go a long way in avoiding road crashes and so motorists, whether drivers of articulated trucks or cars are urged to be conscious of safety, so as to live to drive another day.

Motorists In Kaduna Accuse Road Safety Officials Of Extortion

Road SafetyCommercial drivers and private vehicle owners in Kaduna State have decried the activities of officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in most parts of the state, describing them as extortionists.

The motorists, who spoke to Channels Television Correspondent described as appalling, a situation whereby after struggling to buy fuel into their vehicles and maintaining them, Road Safety officials would always intercept and extort money from them on account of one offence or the other.

According to them, even when all the vehicle particulars and other requirements are complete, they still asked or looked for a fault in order to detain the vehicle in order for the driver to part with some of his day’s earning.

Amongst its functions, according to the edict that established the Federal Road Safety Corp, was traffic law enforcement and patrols on the highways, clearing of obstructions and providing assistance to stranded road users on journeys, aggressive and coordinated public education, awareness and enlightenment on friendly use of the roads by motorists and other road users as well as rescue operations and providing first aid to accident victims on the road.

While there were those who believe the Road Safety officials are doing their best in terms of accident reduction and sanity on the roads, some motorists insisted that the they had no business operating within Kaduna metropolis.

They alleged that instead of mounting checks on the federal highways, the FRSC officials position themselves on rural roads where they collect money from drivers.

When contacted, the Kaduna State FRSC Sector Commander, Olumide Olagunju, said that he was aware of such misconduct among some of his men, but stressed that officers who were caught in the act of extortion and other corrupt behaviours have been made to face disciplinary actions.

On whether his men have the right to check motorists on Local Government and state roads, the Corps Commander said that his men had powers to operate at all the streets and roads in Kaduna.

Although accusations such as this have always been meted to other security agencies like the Police, Customs and others, it is expected that the Road Safety authorities would take the allegations very seriously by ensuring that all corrupt officers are punished accordingly, while at the same time making traffic offenders to face the law.