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The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in Ogun State on Wednesday warned commercial drivers and motorists plying roads in the state to stop relying on charms and other pseudo supernatural powers as measures for escaping auto crashes.
The Sector Commander, Adegoke Adetunji, gave the warning at a public enlightenment programme jointly organized by the command and the National Association of Seadogs, known as Pyrates’ Confraternity.
The enlightenment programmes was organized for commercial drivers who are members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Road Transport Workers operating at the Ayetoro Garage, Lafenwa, Abeokuta.
The programme was part of the end-of-year campaign of the command.
Mr. Adetunji said he observed that the over-reliance on charms by commercial drivers and motorists was responsible for the excessive speeding and recklessness displayed by many of them on the highways in the state.
He said the potency of such charms and supernatural powers remain largely in doubt as no one has been able to prove their efficacy and effectiveness in protecting drivers against road accidents.
Mr. Adetuji said it is disheartening that the possession of such charms and supernatural powers usually give drivers a false sense of security and immunity against road crashes.
“I will tell them (drivers) that if they want to prepare a charm for them, probably, they would use the skin of a lion or that of a goat to prepare it. That goat or lion whose skin was used to prepare the
charm, what killed it? Is it not death? That means nobody is immune against death and when you have a crash or an accident, if you are lucky, you stay alive or you get maimed. If you are unlucky, you cross to the other side of life. So, we want to advise them that they should please, know that there is nothing like juju or charms when it comes to using the roads,” he said.
charm, what killed it? Is it not death? That means nobody is immune against death and when you have a crash or an accident, if you are lucky, you stay alive or you get maimed. If you are unlucky, you cross to the other side of life. So, we want to advise them that they should please, know that there is nothing like juju or charms when it comes to using the roads,” he said.
The Sector Commander advised motorists that the only way to avoid road accidents was the strict observance of all traffic rules and regulations.
“Even the white man who manufactured the vehicle can be killed in road accidents by the vehicle he manufactured. They should please, ensure that they do what is right always while driving. If they do what is right, if they are patient, obey road traffic rules, I’m sure they will always get to their destinations. They should not rely on any charm in their daily duties,” Mr. Adetunji said.
He equally identified human, mechanical and environmental factors as the major causes of auto crashes on the highways, while assuring that with the installation of the speed limiter in all
vehicles, road crashes would be drastically reduced.
vehicles, road crashes would be drastically reduced.
“For now, we are doing public enlightenment on it but by 2015 June 1st, the enforcement will begin. All vehicles, private and commercial are expected to install speed limiters in their vehicles. With the
speed limiter, no amount of pressure they put on the accelerator, the vehicle would not move beyond the approved speed limit.
speed limiter, no amount of pressure they put on the accelerator, the vehicle would not move beyond the approved speed limit.
“I even tell people you should not say because you can go on 100 kilometres per hour and you maintain that. We have what we call common sense speed limit. For example, you are traveling and it’s raining heavily, must you now go on a 100 kilometer per hour, when you know that your visibility is not very clear? When there is fog you cannot see your front view very well and if the road is bad, must you now go on a 100 kilometer per hour? When you install the speed limiter device, still use your common sense speed limiter in order to get to your destination safely.
“So, from June 1st 2015 we are going to start the enforcement on the speed limiter because everybody is expected to start fixing the speed limiter on their vehicles,” Mr. Adetunji added.
In his own remark, the President of the Egba-Yewa axis of the Pyrates’ Confraternity, Michael Kowo, said the association decided to embark on the public enlightenment programme as part of its humanitarian activities.
He lamented the rising rate of accidents on the roads across the country, stressing that the observance of traffic rules and a little patience were the only veritable solutions to this social scourge.
Similarly, representatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, the Vehicle Inspection Office and the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency in the state counselled the drivers against excessive drinking and taking of drugs while they ply the roads.
The Ogun RTEAN Chairman in Ayetoro Garage, Muse Owoyemi and his NURTW counterpart, appreciated the FRSC and the Pyrates’ Confraternity for organizing the public enlightenment programme for the drivers belonging to their unions.
They assured that the lessons learnt from the programme would be digested and implemented by the drivers in the garage.
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