It is exactly 10years now since 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, the Federal Road Safety Corps has invested massively on process, people and technology through the installation of 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 recently which was held at the Nigerian Breweries office in Lagos, with Corps commander, corps Public Education officer, Bisi Kazeem, in attendance, stated that the drive to sanitize Nigerian drivers both public and private users is not an issue for the Corps alone but everyone’s business.
Bisi Kazeem, who represented the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi, stated that the partnership with Nigerian Breweries is a means by which they could also in sanitizing the public not to drink and drive as to avert every form of accident on the roads especially as the festive season is approaching.
According to Bisi Kazeem, “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 behavior 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.”
Bisi went on to point that those that drink over the limit recommended reduces one’s sense of judgment especially as a vehicle driver and these often leads to speed violation.
According to him, “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.”
The FRSC also added that in line with the Presidential directive, commenced a routine check of vehicles for the speed limiter installation while non-compliant drivers are not issued any tickets but advised to install this device which will no doubt, enthrone 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.”
It 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.”
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,’ which according to them is a means of drastically reducing the spate of road traffic crashes during the Ember season.
The Corps reiterate its appeal for vehicle owners to install this device on their vehicles as part of measures to reverse the trend of speed –related road crashes in the country.
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