The Kogi State Sector Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has disclosed that over 500 personnel, 17 patrol vehicles, one heavy tow truck, three ambulances and one motorbike has been deployed to ensure safety of roads across the state during the eid-el-kabir festival.
Sector Commander Samuel Oyedeji made this known while addressing journalists during a press conference in Lokoja on Friday.
Oyedeji, who presented the speech of the Corps Marshal FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, said efforts are being made to guarantee safety of motorists in the state and others transiting through Kogi.
He added that the Command has already keyed into the FRSC National Headquarters Operational order for 2024 Eid- El- Kabir Special Patrol operations from 14th June- 21 June, 2024 and advised all road users to guide their conducts and maintain good behaviours on the highways.
He attributed some of the mishaps on the highways in recent time to lack of adherence to road regulations, driving under the influence of alcohol among others and warned motorists to always do the right things at the right time to avoid unnecessary injuries and death as a result of road accident.
“I am appealing to all road users to guide their conducts and maintain good behaviour on the highways as recent developments shown some of the challenges confronting safe use of highways which includes trailers and trucks conveying Goods, Animal and Human being, night trips, fatigue, speed violations as well as overloading of vehicles.
“As a Command we are ready to consolidate on the Corps goal of achieving five percent reduction in road traffic death and Injuries in 2024 through Enforcement of Traffic Laws and Mobile Courts operations, heightened enforcement, public enlightenment advocacy, effective collaboration with other security agencies and other stakeholders to achieve hitch-free vehicular movements and zero crash during the period and beyond.
“The enforcement shall focus on over speeding and dangerous driving/overtaking, lane indiscipline/route violation, road obstructions, use of phone while driving, overloading, seatbelt/child restraint use violations, passenger’s manifest violation, loading of trailers with goods and passengers among others.
“In other to achieve this milestone, the State Command and all its Component Unit Commands has put in place some measures such as engagement with the motoring public through purposeful and impactful public education programmes, sustained effective patrol operations, as well as adequate monitoring on the highways to prevent road traffic crashes in the State” he stated.
The Sector Commander warned all and sundry that will embark on this year’s Eid-El-Kabir celebration journeys to be safety conscious with absolute disregard to any forms of carelessness or behaviours capable of endangering innocent road users’ life on the highways.
While commending the state Judiciary for timely prosecution of drivers and vehicle owners caught contravening established traffic regulations such as overloading, dangerous driving, and use of phone as well as speeding, the Sector Commander assured that the violations will be tamed through the instrumentality of mobile court operations in the state.
He pointed out that the Corps had in recent time battled with the menace of trailer drivers conveying humans, goods and animals at the same time, lamenting that such behaviour has led to unprecedented crashes and fatalities on the highways.
“This unacceptable act led to the flag-off of the Inter-Agency Joint Task Force to enforce compliance against use of trailers to convey passengers.
“These JTF has successfully arrested a total of 222 trailers loaded with 3169 passengers hanging on top of goods and animals.
“As part of the operations, the JTF dropped over 2440 passengers who were mandated to take alternative vehicles designed for conveying passengers. Since the commencement of the JTF on 23 March, 2024, the monster of road traffic crashes involving trailers and the fatalities that come with them have been adequately tamed and the situation arrested on all fronts,” he stated.
