Motorists and vehicle owners, particularly commercial drivers have been warned against carrying extra fuel in their vehicles thereby endangering the lives of innocent commuters.
The warning was given on Tuesday by the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) which declared that anyone caught in the act will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant traffic regulations.
The FRSC also warned that the era of conveying goods, people and animals is gone as anyone caught engaged in the act will be arrested while the affected vehicle will be impounded until the assigned fines are paid.
According to the FRSC, henceforth, any trailer loaded with goods, people and animals will be stopped, all the passengers with the exception of the herders will be disembaked and the trailer will be allowed to go after paying the imposed fines.
Addressing drivers, vehicle owners and animal merchants at the Cattle market in Bauchi, State Commander of the FRSC, Corps Commander, Patrick Ikaba said that the FRSC is worried about the rate of fatal crashes across the country.
According to him, “In Nigeria, research has shown that more people are dying in various road crashes across the country than HIV/AIDS infection. These crashes are avoidable and so, we must save lives by changing our attitudes to life.”
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Ikaba also said that FRSC has the mandate of reducing to the barest minimum, fatal crashes in the country stressing that a good journey is the one that is completed no matter how long it takes stressing that it is not how fast you reached your destination but how safe.
The issue of night journeys by drivers was also noted, with FRSC stating that night journeys should be avoided because it is always difficult to get help in terms of any crash in the night.
He made referrence to a recent fatal crash in Enugu state involving a bus from Bauchi state saying that the probable cause of the crash was fatigue and stress in the side of the driver who drove all night.
The Sector Commander then said that all sectors of the FRSC have been authorised to arrest any road traffic offender and deal with them accordingly because according to him, “Our mandate is to have a safer road across the country.”
On the issue of having market days on major roads in Bauchi state, the Sector Commander stressed the need to shift away from such places in order to reduce fatalities in such areas.
He also urged vehicle owners to ensure that they installed speed limiters in their vehicles in order to ensure that the speed limit is respected.
In his remarks, Alh Musa Firo, a leader of the cattle market commended FRSC for the enlightment and education saying that it came at the right time considering that rains are setting in.
He assured that the union will continue to educate its members to always obey traffic regulations in order to have a safer road as well as safe journeys across the state.
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