The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi has cautioned drivers against blocking the highways while attempting to fuel their vehicles at the petroleum stations, warning that perpetrators of such acts could have their vehicles impounded and the drivers prosecuted for traffic violation. Oyeyemi gave the warning over the weekend while monitoring traffic along Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the countdown to the next week Christmas celebration.
According to Bisi Kazeem, Head of Media Relations and Strategy, FRSC, Oyeyemi, while expressing confidence in the ability of the FRSC to ensure a hitch-free celebration through adequate deployment of personnel and logistics, the Corps Marshal stated that he was disturbed by the level of gridlocks he witnessed on the highways, attributing them to the drivers who shunt at fuel stations to buy fuel at the various stations located along the route. He warned such perpetrators to change their attitudes by conducting themselves decently while queuing to buy fuel or risk having their vehicles impounded for blocking the highways.
According to him, while the long queue being noticed in parts of the country is understandable, that should not be an excuse for some people to create chaos by blocking the highways in the name of buying fuel and consequently cause undue gridlocks. “I have decided to come here today to personally observe the nature of traffic along the route in preparation for deployment of more personnel and logistics towards the next week Christmas celebration,” he stated.
“But what I observed is that, though the traffic volume is moderate along the route, its smooth flow was being distorted by the activities of drivers who park indiscriminately to buy fuel. This must stop.
“So, I am using this opportunity to warn such drivers to desist from the act and conduct themselves decently while queuing to buy fuel. I also wish to assure members of the public that we would not compromise such lawlessness as vehicles of the perpetrators and the affected drivers would not be spared of prosecution for traffic violation,” Oyeyemi further stated.
On the extent of deployment of FRSC personnel for this year’s operations, the Corps Marshal reiterated his earlier projection that about 36,000 staff of the Corps including the special marshals have been mobilised to cover the road before, during and after the Christmas and new year celebrations. This he said was deliberately planned to beat the record of last year through greater crash reduction and road obstruction.
“We have since commenced the special operations, and the personnel would remain vigilant throughout the celebrations to ensure that we record minimal cases of road crash and obstruction during this year’s yuletide as compared to last year,” he stated.
The Corps Marshal appealed to all road travellers to plan their journeys well to avoid unnecessary rushing which manifest in speed violation, saying speed-induced crashes remain a big challenge which the Corps is poised to tackling through the measure of speed limiting devices. He further stated that with the first phase of the enforcement of the use of the devices which commences with commercial vehicles as from 1st April 2016, every driver would be expected to drive within the stipulated speed limits.
Oyeyemi also warned drivers against overloading and driving with faulty lighting system especially in the night, saying such habits undermine the rules of the road and pose negative consequences to the drivers and other road users. He added that drivers should avoid driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol because of the negative effects they have on the users.
“Drinking under the influence of alcohol or drugs could give drivers false sense of confidence which could be fatal. People should therefore, avoid drink-driving,” he said.
It would be recalled that towards ensuring greater safety during this year’s ember months, the FRSC had in September flagged off a special end of year operations at Awka, Anambra state with the operations involving massive deployment of personnel and logistics to cover the entire road network in the country, particularly the identified black spots.
