The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has decried the rate of lawlessness among road users, particularly, commercial drivers and some elites, saying offenders should be jailed to serve as deterrent to others.
Boboye disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering the first distinguished lecture series of the Lagos State University School of Transport, themed, “Transportation, road safety management towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”.
He condemned motorists who assault traffic regulatory officers, who tried to correct or apprehend them for reckless driving or violation of traffic rules.
“In fact, I wish that whoever is caught making calls while driving is made to pay N100,000 fine and subjected to mental stability tests.
“Traffic laws are to serve as deterrent. The level of lawlessness and overloading among commercial bus and tanker drivers is alarming,” he lamented.
The Corps Marshal also described Okada riding (commercial motorcyclists) as a product of inefficient transport system in Nigeria, saying it should be outlawed.
According to him, the Okada riders were the most lawless and violent set of road users.
“Okada is not supposed to be on the road. They have no room in the transportation system of the country. All the 36 states of Nigeria should provide high powered buses for transportation combined with the rail system,” he said.
He further stressed the need for a total reform of driving practice and the drivers themselves.
The FRSC boss described the transport sector as an important component of the economy, impacting on the development and welfare of the people; adding that it is a major prerequisite for the development of any nation.
He however, noted that the rising trend in the mobility and mortality rate, due to Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) in low and middle-income countries, had led the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare road traffic crashes as ‘epidemic’.
“The situation in Nigeria has been exacerbated by the near absence of alternative modes of transportation as an estimated 90% of passengers and freight in Nigeria relies on the road network with the attendant challenge of increased number and incidence of RTCs.
“Trend analysis of fatal road crashes between 2006 and 2018 shows that 73,504 lives were lost to fatal road crashes in 3,075 cases.
“The highest fatality occurred in 2013 with 6,544 deaths, which is a 7.4 percent increase from the 2012 record of 6,092 deaths.
“Also, a total of 1,013,471 road crashes were reported from 1960 to 2006, leading to a casualty figure of 1,179,642 persons, distributed as 292,703 persons killed and 866,939 persons injured,” he said.
