The Federal Road Safety Commission, (FRSC) has said that recklessness of road users causes road accidents and not witches.
The Sector Commander of Cross River Command, Istifanus Ibrahim, made the statement during the flag-off of 2023 Ember Month Safety Campaign titled “speed thrills but it kills, drive responsibly and avoid overloading”.
Ibrahim said the last four months of the year is usually characterized by increased vehicular and socioeconomic activities, hence commercial drivers respond to the period by trying to make more money. He said the Ember months were like every other months of the year but road traffic crashes increased during the period due to the tendency of motorists to drive on excessive speed while neglecting regulations.
“I wish to also use this opportunity to disabuse our minds from the beliefs that evil spirits are responsible for the increased crashes during this period of the year” he said. “This is unscientific as crashes are caused by human, mechanical and environmental factors.
“Therefore, the essence of the Ember months campaign is to compliment other mechanisms that have been deployed to stamp-out overloading, speed and other attitudes that can hinder our goal of five per cent reduction of road traffic deaths and injuries,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Bassey Otu, who flagged off the campaign said speed was often exhilarating, but it came with a significant risk when it was not managed responsibly.
Represented by Mr Elvert Ayambem, Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly, Otu said, everytime people stepped behind the wheels, they held their safety, that of their passengers, and others on the road in their hands.
According to him, the roads are a shared space, and our actions while driving impact everyone around us. So, to prevent accidents, it is essential to drive responsibly, obey speed limits, and avoid overloading vehicles.
“The thrill of speed should always be balanced with the responsibility of ensuring safety on the road. Let us all do our part to make our roads safer for everyone,” he said.
Similarly, the representative of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW), Mr Victor Essien said the message of FRSC was important and would be heeded. He said he would take the message back, mobilise his members in the various parks in the state, telling them to drive safely to arrive safely.
The Chairman of FRSC Marshals in Cross River, Mr Akunjom Akunjom maintained that the yearly exercise was necessary to increase safety awareness especially for commercial road users.
While noting that it was better to get home alive, Akunjom said there were no demons on the roads that caused accidents adding that the demons were the road users themselves. The event had officials from all the military and paramilitary organisations in the state.
