[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi has charged the fleet operators in the country on the need to adhere strictly to the terms of Road Transport Safety Standardization Scheme, saying the Corps would not hesitate to apply sanctions to ensure compliance.
He stated this recently while opening interactive session with Management of some selected fleet operators on cases of road traffic crashes involving vehicles of fleet operators.
The Corps Marshal who was represented by the Deputy Corps Marshal in charge of Special Marshals and Partnership, Ahmed Hasaan noted that the interactive session was to critically examine the causes of the growing cases of road traffic crashes involving the flee operators’ vehicles and finding remedies to the menace.
He frowned at the practice of some operators who fail to observe the safety standards in the management of their fleet as required in the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012 and the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS)., saying the Corps would no longer tolerate some omissions
He pointed out that some of the invited fleet operators do not have competent safety manager/assistants in their terminals contrary to the provisions of traffic regulations, noting that others have no programme of training and retraining for their drivers. The Corps Marshal chided some of the operators for abandoning their broken down vehicles on the roads whenever a crash occurs, adding that some are still overloading their vehicles despite several warnings while others are yet to show adequate commitment to use of speed limiting device in their vehicles.
After exhaustive deliberations with inputs from officers from relevant departments and Corps offices of the Corps, the participants resolved to among others, include FERMA and Federal Ministry of Works in subsequent meetings and called on the FRSC to critically review the process of issuing drivers’ licences to forestall cases of licensing reckless and inconsiderate drivers. “Abandoned trucks on the highways should be promptly removed,” the communiqué stated.
Participants also called on the FRSC to liaise with relevant authorities to address the bad state of the nation’s roads, and urged fleet operators to pay particular attention to their terminals to make them more conducive for the travelers, including the provision of breathalyzers for the daily testing of the drivers.
“All fleet operators should continuously review the rate of road traffic crashes and device in-house strategies to bring the crashes down,” it further stated.
“Fleet operators should key into the speed limiter initiative, review Driving hours and look into the provision of accommodation and rest areas for the drivers while in transit.
“There should be more synergy amongst the Fleet owners, the fleet operators and the fleet regulators such as FRSC.
“Fleet operators should make adequate provisions for emergency vehicles in cases of breakdown of their vehicles or network with operators who have such provisions to ensure that commuters are not stranded,” the communiqué added.
The meeting which attracted some members of the FRSC Management and principal officers of the National Headquarters was attended by representatives of some fleet operators, including God is Good Motors, Plateau Express Service ltd; Benue Links Nig Ltd; Young Shall Grow Motors; Pleasure Travels Motors Ltd and Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. Others were Onitsha Mass Transit; YSG Motors and God is Good Motors.
