The unit commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lekki Command, Asst Corps Commander, Sani Abdulahi, has flagged off the 2023 ember month’s campaign designed to eliminate road crashes in his domain.
The campaign, held on Tuesday at Libra Motor Park in the Ajah area of Lagos State, attracted relevant stakeholders in the transport sector.
In a speech he delivered to launch the campaign, the Unit Commander reminded his audience that road traffic crashes have no spiritual connection and that they don’t just happen.
He stressed that they are caused by human actions which can be avoided, adding: “We must therefore demystify this period by planning our journeys well; ensure regular maintenance of our vehicles; avoid overloading and speeding, all of which form the central message of this year’s campaign.”
He said ember months have assumed notoriety over the years in increased levels of road carnage, obstruction, death and injuries.
He said the theme for this year’s campaign: “Speed Thrills, But Kills: Drive Responsibly and Avoid Overloading,” was carefully chosen by the FRSC Management to drive home the point that as the factor responsible for most of the road crashes so far, if drivers are able to adhere strictly to speed limits and operate with no excess goods or passengers in their vehicle, cases of road traffic crashes could be more effectively managed.
He particularly cautioned motorists on Lekki-Epe expressways to be wary of the peculiarity of the road.
He said: “The expressway to Epe not only leads to the location of a giant petrochemical industry and export free zone with attraction to various intra and interstate transportation to other parts of the country, it’s also rated as the fastest evolving residential area with clusters of Estates on the two sides of the highways. Ironically, the road infrastructure which is already showing evident signs of incapacity to withstand the demands of the increasing volume of traffic with the various failed portions and impatience of the drivers which unnecessarily slow down traffic at those points calls for concern.”
He said the negative impacts created by loss of man-hour, health conditions of the motorists and economic downturn are unquantifiable in a community that’s eager to experience economic prosperity.
He then said: “As the lead agency in road traffic management and safety administration in the country, therefore, we in the FRSC represented by the Lekki unit command couldn’t ignore the enormous challenges but engage in appropriate remedial actions.
“Part of that action was the joint workshop we organized in September last year with the Managements of Lagos Business School (LBS) and Lekki Estate Resident and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) where issues of harmony between road safety and economic prosperity were brought to the consciousness of members of the public. Since then, our working relationship with the two organizations in creating public awareness on issues of road safety, security and partnership through various platforms has been improving.
“Today’s gathering is another platform to create the much desired public awareness on road safety especially during the ember months when increases in human and vehicular traffic heighten cases of obstruction, death and injuries most of which are preventable if people show more patience, consider other road users and abide by the traffic rules and regulations.”