FRSC begins ember months campaigns, issues travel advisory

The Federal Road Safety Corps has started its nationwide end of the year campaigns with the theme; ‘Drive Safe and Stay Safe’, urging motorists to obey all traffic rules on the roads.

In a statement signed by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, called on the motoring public to make the year 2020 ’ember’ months unique and crash free by adhering strictly to road traffic regulations.

The Corps Marshal strongly cautioned motorists to note that the end of the year is not naturally tragic and are not in any way different from other months of the year, only that there seems to be an increase in vehicular movement witnessed during the season.

Debunking the myth that the last four months of the year commonly referred to as ’ember months’ are hazardous for motorists, the Corps Marshal said that it is very possible to drive without involving in a crash as long as motorists obey and adhere strictly to traffic laws and ensure constant maintenance of their vehicles.

According to him, “With the rapid infrastructural development going on in the rail transportation sector under the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, commuters are advised to maximise that alternative means of transportation by patronising the train stations where available, as this will drastically reduce the pressure on the road transportation sector”

He stated that the traveling public must  start thinking about transport sharing as early as possible, to reduce pressure on the road as this will further reduce incidences of road traffic crashes. Family and friends are further admonished to plan and travel in phases, so as to avoid clusters of traffic during the ember months.

While speaking on the need to imbibe caution when choosing the vehicles to board especially for long distance trips, Oyeyemi admonished them to patronise safe and secure mass transit companies that have been duly certified to operate. This is to make room for redundancy plans in the event of vehicle breakdown.

He said that night trips are not as safe as day trips and travellers must try as much as possible to plan their trips within the hours of the day because of visibility and fatigue factors on the side of the driving.

Oyeyemi also warned that all travelling protocols for COVID-19 must be strictly adhered to. Noting that the enforcement on 50 per cent carrying capacity for all vehicles targeted at creating adequate physical distancing is still in place, and the Corps will not spare any fleet operator caught violating these directives.

He maintained that fleet operators must religiously follow all safety precautions, observe preventive measures against the dreaded virus, and comply with every bit of travelling directives already in place.