Osita Chidoka, Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, wants state governments to relocate markets situated on highways to check unnecessary deaths from road accidents.
Chidoka, who spoke at a Foum, stressed that markets should not be sited on express roads.
He spoke against the backdrop of an accident two weeks ago, where a petroleum tanker loaded with diesel caught fire and crashed into a market at Madala, near Zuba, after the driver lost control.
According to him, where such markets are located, they should be as distant as possible from the express roads and, if possible, another road should be created going farther down from the express ways.
The corps marshal noted that creating markets on expressways created new externalities.
Fifty-three deaths resulted from 289 road accidents in the Federal Capital Territory between January and June, down from 176 deaths in the same period last year.
Chidoka said 586 people sustained various degrees of injuries during the period, while 865 people were injured in the same period last year.
He said in the same period, the commission rescued 1,554 persons by using its newly introduced ambulances, strategically located in Abuja.
The corps marshal said that if the commission had had its ambulance scheme in place last year, it would have saved the lives of about 1,041 road accident victims.
The corps marshal attributed the decline in road accidents in Abuja to the presence of speed breakers, which he described as a calming device, on some major roads in the city.
Chidoka said it was against this backdrop that he opposed the removal of the speed breakers when the FCT minister came up with the idea, following protests by the residents.
He said that sequel to the commission’s observation, the FCT minister decided to modify the bumps instead of removing them.
Chidoka said the authorities believed that the drivers that would use the roads would be like those in Washington and Japan.
Operatives of the Federal Road Safety Commission will not carry arms in discharging their responsibilities to the Nigerian public.
He said, however, that the Act which set up the commission empowers it to carry arms.
Chidoka stressed that the commission’s duty was primarily to ensure a change of attitude among Nigerians for safety on the highways.
The corps marshal noted that bearing arms would negate the efforts of road safety marshals to inculcate in the minds of the motoring public the need to think safety always.
The FRSC boss said that they might, however, carry arms to protect the commission’s various equipment and installations for efficiency and prompt response to emergencies.
According to him, attitudinal change is the driving force behind the massive public enlightenments on the commission’s safety programmes on the wearing of helmets and speed limit.
Chidoka noted that the public and the nation would gain more from such changes than causing them to be afraid through the use of arms.
On the commission’s focus on enforcing wearing of crash helmets by motorcyclists only in the urban areas, Chidoka said that they planned to storm the rural areas later.
He said the commission wanted motorcyclists to wear the helmets out of understanding and for safety reasons, and not out of compulsion and fear.
Federal Road Safety Commission has advised road crash victims to report to the commission, cases of rejection by hospitals.
The corps marshal said that the commission had about 19 functional accident help centres, 10 partially functional ones, while about 38 others would be fully operational by the end of 2010.
Chidoka said the commission was working toward ensuring that an FRSC patrol vehicle or ambulance was seen every 75 kms on the highway.
He described as baseless allegations that the commission’s staff abandoned their duty posts at the help centres.
The Federal Road Safety Commission wants the introduction of a national data base for births to check underage driving in the country.
The Corps Marshal, said Nigeria needs to have a data base to be able to determine people’s real age.
He disclosed that the reform of the drivers’ licence system would begin by the fourth quarter of the year.
On the benefits of Information and Communication Technology , the corps marshal said that it had helped the commission in discharging its duties.
He said that ICT had greatly enhanced the operations of the commission’s officials, empowered them to promptly respond to crashes and improved their general well being.
FRSC to decentralise production of Number Plates
The Federal Road Safety Commission plans to decentralise the production of number plates in the country, the Corps Marshal, Mr Osita Chidoka, has said.
He made the remark against the backdrop of reported plans by some state governments to build their own plants to produce vehicle number plates.
According to him, the commission plans to decentralise production of the plates by establishing plants in Lagos, Awka and Abuja.
He explained that the decentralisation of the production of number plates would enable the commission to respond faster to states’ demands across the nation.
Chidoka said that the number of vehicles carrying plate numbers that were not issued by the commission had dropped.
He said that the FRSC had introduced a tracking device which enabled it to quickly locate its men wherever they were and direct them to the nearest accident scene.
On the relationship between the FRSC and the Vehicle Inspection Office , Chidoka said that it was cordial.
However, the corps marshal urged improvement in the capacity of the VIOs to enable them to deliver better on their mandate.
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