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Over-speeding: FRSC deploys radar guns, intensifies campaign

The time was 2:15 pm. The 10-seater (when overloaded) bus, popularly known as tuke-tuke in some climes, had left the Upper Iweka terminus in Onitsha,…

The time was 2:15 pm. The 10-seater (when overloaded) bus, popularly known as tuke-tuke in some climes, had left the Upper Iweka terminus in Onitsha, a commercial town in Anambra State for Benin, the Edo State capital. Solomon O.C. Ugwu was one of the passengers in the bus. The 28-year-old man, who hailed from Ohaozara in Ebonyi State, had gone to Onitsha to buy some goods. He was a Benin-based businessman. Along the Onitsha-Benin expressway, according to an eyewitness account, the bus had a collision with another one from the opposite direction. Both buses were on high speed. In that accident, a lot of passengers, including Ugwu, died.  
Ogbonna Njoku was another victim of over-speeding. Having laboured to obtain a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Njoku braved all odds to further read Law at the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, from where he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School. On his way to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital to inform friends and relatives that he had qualified as a lawyer, a dream he nursed for several years, he was killed. It was on Enugu-Abakaliki road. Njoku was a few kilometres to his destination when an over-speeding vehicle lost control and crushed him and a commercial motorcyclist. His dream ended abruptly.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Aunty Mine, as she was fondly called by relatives and admirers, was waiting to board a vehicle from Kagini junction to Area One when she was crushed to death by a bus on a high speed from the Zuba-Dei Dei axis. Her remains were deposited at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.
A lot of Nigerians have lost their lives in similar circumstances. Sunday Trust, however, gathered that some measures are being put in place by the FRSC to stem this ugly tide. For example, to ensure that highways and other roads were effectively patrolled, 18, 000 operatives and 918 duty vehicles were deployed during the just concluded 2014 Sallah celebrations.
A press release by the FRSC during the celebrations reads, “To ensure sanity on the highways during this year’s Eid-el- Kabir celebrations, the Federal Road Safety Corps has deployed 18,000 personnel, including regular and special marshals, 800 patrol vehicles, 60 motorbikes, 52 ambulances and 6 heavy-duty tow trucks along critical corridors as part of plans for a nationwide special patrol.
“This exercise, which is in line with the corps’ continued drive to reducing road traffic crashes and fatalities, especially during festive seasons, has also been designed in view of expected high vehicular movement. It is also to address possible tendencies for road traffic regulation violations by motorists.
“The special patrol, which is aimed at addressing the spate of avoidable road crashes usually associated with the festive season, is an all-inclusive exercise, which will witness prompt rescue services, strict enforcement of traffic rules and robust public enlightenment campaigns across the country.
Among other things, the objectives of this special exercise include public enlightenment campaigns through the distribution of safety handbills, radio and television talk shows.
“Operatives will equally check speed limit violation through the use of radar guns.’’
Speaking specifically on speed limit violation, the corps marshal and chief executive of the FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi said, “Our findings indicate that speed limit violations remain a prevalent factor on road traffic crashes, accounting for 39 per cent of road crashes recorded nationwide between January and August 2014. Out of all causative factors, speed violation, dangerous driving and loss of control, which are speed-related, contributed to most crashes on our roads.  
 “This scenario informed a recent resolution after a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja to commence a nationwide enforcement of the compulsory use of speed limiters in all vehicles from 1st June 2015, with commercial vehicles forming part of the phase one of this proposed enforcement.
“Various forms of advocacy programmes have been initiated by the corps to create robust nationwide awareness on speed limiters, which have been approved by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
“Speed limiters control the maximum speed of equipped vehicles. They are efficient and powerful tools of speed management. Active speed limiters directly control speed by applying counter force on the accelerator or through the engine fuel injection system.”
The FRSC, therefore, warned motorists to ensure strict compliance to all traffic rules and regulations, saying there would be no waiver for traffic violations.
Also, in a paper presented at a stakeholders’ forum on the Implementation of the National Policy on Maximum Road Speed Limiters for Vehicles, the Corps Marshal revealed that between January and August 2014, the FRSC recorded an increased rate of road crashes, with a greater percentage attributed to over-speeding.
“In order to reduce this trend, there is the need to intimate the public, drivers and fleet operators on the importance of speed limiting devices in vehicles as a means of achieving safe driving on our roads.
“When speed is reduced, the number of collisions will also be reduced while the severity of those that occur will be mitigated.     
“Regrettably, several crashes are linked to factors like speed violation or loss of control,’’ Oyeyemi said.
Providing statistics on road crashes in the country, the Corps Marshal revealed that between 2007 and 2011, a total of 6, 012 crashes involving tankers and trailers occurred; 5, 531 persons were killed while 18, 043 persons were injured. Also, between 2007 and 2010, a total of 5, 828 crashes occurred; 5, 583 persons were killed while 27, 791 persons sustained various degrees of injury. This is in addition to other casualties.
Speaking on how over-speeding leads to crashes, Oyeyemi said, “Excessive speeding decreases a driver’s response to time in an event, and may increase the risk of crash. Speed reduces a driver’s ability to maneuver safely on the road, a situation that may lead to crash. On the other hand, controlling vehicle speed can prevent crashes and reduce the impact on victims when they occur.’’
On what the FRSC is doing to check excessive speeding, he said they were involved in the promotion of speed calming measures in the design and construction of highways. The organisation has also introduced speed radar guns on some highways. According to him, these radar guns are enhanced to pick number plates of defaulting vehicles. Nationwide sensitisation campaigns are also organised, he added.  
Speaking to Sunday Trust on why Nigerian drivers indulge in over-speeding, the Assistant Corps Commander, Kubwa unit of the FRSC, Patrick D. Davou said, “A cause of excessive speeding by some drivers is the quest to get rich quick, especially during festive period. Some drivers want to undertake a journey of four hours in two hours. Some of them also operate under the influence of alcohol and drugs, while some believe in the potency of charms in an event of any crash. Others also indulge in excessive speeding for adventure.’’
Also speaking to our reporter, the Assistant General Manager, Northern Operations, ABC Transport Plc, Mr. Simon Onwana, who said there was no room for over-speeding in his company, attributed the action to selfishness on the part of some drivers. He condemned the action of some transport companies which encourage over-speeding, saying they place income above safety. He said that in such companies, drivers are encouraged to indulge in excessive speeding in order to receive commendation, an action he said could lead to fatal crashes.
In their separate opinions, Mr. Idorenyin Usungurua, an Abuja-based geologist and Elder Emmanuel Mba, an experienced driver, attributed excessive speeding to the quest to meet target, lack of proper planning and time consciousness. They said some people would deliberately drive on a high speed in order to be at alert and avoid drowsiness.

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