Safe Driving and What the FRSC should Do

On Thursday, April 13, a serious accident occurred at Unizik Junction, Awka which involved a trailer and other vehicles which were hit. It was a miracle that no lives were lost. But the accident triggered a massive gridlock on the lane of the Enugu /Onitsha Expressway where it happened, as the vehicles, especially the trailer, literally blocked the way.

But surprisingly, the trailer and one of the vehicles it hit remained on the road for the entirety of the next day, constituting danger for road users. It was only by the following Saturday night that the road was finally cleared.

This is a usual scenario across the state when accidents happen. And this gets one to wonder if the agency saddled with clearing the road after such situations is actually well equipped to do the job. In any civilized society, no vehicle can remain on the road more than two hours after such an accident. But in these parts, they remain until they cause another accident.

what some people seem not to understand is why the major agency concerned with doing such work, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, does not often clear the road after accidents, thus endangering other road users. Is it that they do not have towing vehicles or that they are merely not ready to do their job?

An agency that stops drivers on the road to sanction seat belt defaulters but blatantly fails to remove vehicles involved in accidents from the road, certainly owes the public some explanations. Accidents have often occurred because of this negligence and that is not acceptable.

If the FRSC is not optimally equipped to do its work, then it should request for the necessary tools from the federal government, rather than going about as if everything is well with them. No vehicle should be allowed to remain on the road beyond two hours after a crash, not minding that two hours is even long.

Do they have any moral justification to punish seat belt violators when they ignore  something much bigger, that will imperil  road users in a greater capacity?

They should therefore ensure that, going forward, all abandoned vehicles on the road, including those involved in accidents, are cleared from the road as soon as they get reports of such. They cannot be preaching Road Safety when they cannot do one of their major functions.

It is certainly time for them to sit up.