The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has disclosed that crashes on Nigerian roads were no accidents but a result of actions or inactions of human beings.
The assertion was made by Corps Marshal Dauda Biu, Corps Marshal of FRSC on Friday (Sept. 29) in Calabar, during the 2023 Sectoral Workshop on the theme, “Volunteerism in Road Safety Management: Limits and Possibilities”.
Represented by Corps Commander Anthony Etuechere, Corps Commander in charge of External Relations in FRSC, Biu said the workshop was necessary for them to review and analyse their activities in the reduction of road crashes.
According to him, road crashes were preventable if advocacies of safe driving were a shared responsibility involving all and not FRSC officials alone.
“Volunteerism is about having a selfless, nationalistic and contributory mindset in delivering services that benefit others without any pecuniary interest.
“In a bid to boost our efforts in achieving our statutory mandate, we established a volunteer arm as special marshal without any remuneration attached.
“The corps also hopes that with the support of its safety marshals, it will realise a five per cent reduction of road traffic deaths and injuries with the aid of improving capacity for data collection, analysis and management,” he said.
On his part, Assistant Corps Marshal Jonathan Owade, Zonal Commanding Officer supervising Rivers Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa, said the workshop became necessary to rejig the Corps and prepare for the “ember months”
Owade said they were also there to honour their corp marshals who had been outstanding and were present in the 774 Local Government Areas in the nation.
He said anywhere the safety marshals were seen, it meant FRSC was around to ensure safety on the highway, adding that well-meaning Nigerians are expected to join the corps.
He said they also conduct public enlightenment in public places such as markets, churches, mosques and even carry out enforcement where necessary.
Similarly, Mr John Umori, Zonal Coordinator, Special Marshal RS Six Port Harcourt said he and his colleagues joined the marshal to serve.
According to him, in the past, it was difficult to assist accident victims for fear of being accused but today, it is a thing of the past with the presence of Safety Marshals.
He said they didn’t need to know the victim, they just assisted whenever there was a crash because they were trained in first aid and other skills to help road traffic users.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was also used to honour two honorary marshals and 24 eminent marshals for their outstanding performance in ensuring traffic safety in the nation.
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