Ember month: Better lose your money than your lives – FRSC tells passengers

Chinedum Treasure

Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State has assured motoring public of its preparedness to ensure smooth traffic flow, road crash reduction and safer motoring environment during the ember months.

Sector Commander, Joyce Alexander gave the assurance on Tuesday during a press briefing as part of activities for the flag-off of the 2024 Ember Months sensitization campaign, themed: ‘Speak up against dangerous driving: Crashes kill more passengers than Drivers’.

She advised passengers not to keep silent against dangerous driving, but report such reckless drivers to the nearest FRSC stations, or better still disembark from such vehicles.

“As passengers, your safety lies in your hands and the driver owes you the responsibility of taking you to your destination safe and secure.

“Instead of insisting you won’t get down from the vehicle of a reckless driver since you’ve paid, we appeal that it’s better to lose the money than lose your lives.

“Better still, report the driver to the nearest road safety station and we’ll find another vehicle for you,” she added.

While listing part of measures to ensure free flow of traffic during the period to include establishment of mobile court, transit camps at strategic locations, Alexander however noted that the mobile court was for caution and not for witch-hunting or revenue generation.

She said, “We’re aware commuters coming from different part of the country access Anambra through the Niger bridge which is always a nightmare.

“As part of our strategies, we’ll be setting up mobile courts at the Onitsha end of the bridge, as well as public enlightenment at the Asaba end.

“The mobile court is neither to witchhunt motorists or to generate revenue. It’s simply a cautionary measure for traffic rules violators. We believe that once motorists know there are sanctions waiting for them at the bridge, they’ll drive with caution.

“We’ll also be deploying both our operatives and the special marshalls across the state for effective traffic control and enforcements where necessary.

“Again, we’ll have transit camps where our operatives will sleep throughout the period. They’ll be on duty 24hours in case of obstructions, rescue or any other form of emergency.

“We’ll also have our towing vehicles stationed at major cities in the state to clear obstructions and 122 toll free call centers domiciled in Abuja in case of emergency.

“We’ve been working with government and other sister agencies to ensure the roads are free of obstructions before, during and after the ember months.”

Part of the ember months activities include mega town hall meetings, motorcades, transit, rest areas, and loading bays advocacy, among others.

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