By Our Reporter
The first of the four ember months will end tomorrow, Saturday, September 30, 2017, and the usual rush to make things done in the last quarter of the year will commence from next week.
Some people will start travelling a lot so as to accomplish their goal for the year.
Ten years ago, the Nigerian Breweries PLC went into partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to initiate a campaign against ‘Don’t Drink and Drive.’
As a pro-active and intelligent driven government agency, FRSC has invested massively on process, people and technology through the installation of over V-Sat networking and inter connectivity to ensure real time exchange of information among staff of the corps across the country.
At a media briefing held Thursday, September 28, 2017, at the Nigerian Breweries office in Lagos, the officer in charge of Public Education at the FRSC, Bisi Kazeem, explained that the partnership with the Nigerian Breweries was sensitize Nigerian drivers on safe driving.
Bisi Kazeem, who represented the Corps Marshal, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, stated further that the partnership has helped pushed the ‘don’t drink and drive’ message in the country, recording a huge success.
Bisi Kazeem said, “Alcohol-related road traffic crashes remain a major global issue which has taken the front burner over the years.
“This is further signposted by pillar 4 of the United Nations decade of action for road safety (2011-2020) which focuses on developing comprehensive programmes to improve road user behaviour through sustained enforcement of road safety laws and standards combined with public awareness and education to increase seat belt and helmet wearing and to reduce drinking and driving, speeding etc.”
“We should note that alcohol, when taken above recommended basis limits, reduces our sense of judgment as a vehicle driver and often results to speed limit violation for a driver who is driving under the influence of alcohol, in addition to other road vices.
“Speed limit violation is a related factor to drunk driving because when a driver is driving beyond the specified alcohol limit, the tendency is for him to accelerate above recommended speed limit for vehicles,” he said at the briefing.
The FRSC top officer also added that in line with the Presidential directive, the agency has commenced a routine check of vehicles for the installation of speed limiting device.
He said while non-compliant drivers are not issued any tickets for now, they should endure to install this device on their vehicles, pointing out that it would bring sanity on the nation’s highways.
“The corps commenced a nationwide clampdown on vehicles without the speed limit device from 1st February 2017 and our record as at 20th September 2017 indicates that a total number of 165,040 commercial vehicles stopped for routine checks while 66,774 vehicles were installed with the device translating to 40.5% compliance,” he said.
He further also disclosed that within the same period, “56,214 vehicles were issued tickets for non-compliance translating to 34.1% while 41,617 motorists were cautioned and advised to install the device in their vehicle.
“In the same vein, 494 motorists were arraigned before mobile courts for non-compliance while 19,602 vehicles were impounded.”
He said ahead of the yuletide celebrations, the FRSC has put in place some measures through Special Intervention Patrols and the usual special patrol with the theme of this year’s campaign tagged ‘Right to life, Not Negotiable.’
Adedapo Adesanya