By Ibironke Ariyo
The Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) has deployed 25, 225 operatives to cover 29 critical road corridors during Easter celebrations.
Its spokesman, Mr Bisi Kazeem stated in Abuja on Wednesday that the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, gave the directive for the deployment.
The operatives are Regular and Special Marshals who will patrol the designated road corridors from April 13 to April 20 to ensure free flow of traffic and possibly reduce traffic fatalities by 15 per cent.
Also deployed to the national assignment are Zonal Commanding Officers, Sector Commanders and officers of the rank of Deputy Corps Commanders at the National Headquarters as well as Corridor Commanders.
The FRSC also assigned 580 patrol vehicles, 92 ambulances, 17 tow trucks and 73 motorbikes as logistics support for the special patrol.
On hand for the exercise are 2,096 reflective jackets, 1,000 reflective cones, 73 tyre pressure gauges, extricating machines and breathalysers.
The FRSC also activated 28 road traffic crash clinics and 48 Zebra points on major routes.
The routes would be covered by 92 ambulances to be used for rescue operations and like conveying injured victims to hospitals.
The FRSC also activated 22 Help Areas to ensure prompt removal of obstructions, corpses and the injured in the event of fatalities in road crashes during the period.
This is in addition to 10 traffic control camps dedicated solely to identifying gridlock areas to be manned throughout the day and night during the celebrations.
Dr Oyeyemi also directed Commanding Officers to engage the motoring public in purposeful and impactful public education programmes during the exercise.
He charged them to strengthen surveillance to regulate unprofessional excesses, sustain effective patrol operations and to monitor the highways adequately.
The Commanding Officers were also directed to step up patrol operations and ensure strict sanctioning of critical offences like overloading, driving of rickety vehicles and excessive smoke emission.
Other offences that will be strictly sanctioned are speed limit violations, overloading, tyre pressure violation, light signs violations including malfunctioning directional lights, headlights, rear light and brake lights.
The corps also established a Situation Room at the National Headquarters to monitor activities across the country, and to collate and process information for dissemination to relevant commands and stakeholders.
Kazeem quoted Oyeyemi as saying that: “we are very conscious of the fact that FRSC alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of ensuring safe road environments.
“I have directed Commanding Officers to liaise with strategic stakeholders within their operational areas for needed moral and logistics as well as security support.
“I have confidence in the quality of personnel and logistics that have been deployed to ensure the safety of travellers.
“It is expedient to state without mincing words that the Corps will not be able to achieve desired result if the cooperation of the motoring public is not in place.’’
Oyeyemi urged road users to comply with established traffic laws to minimise road crashes.
The corps can be reached on National Emergency Number, 122, which is toll free, for swift response whenever and wherever the need arose.
It listed other emergency numbers as 08052998090, 09067000015, and 08052998012.
The three are National Traffic Radio live lines and can also be used to reach the FRSC form swift responses. (NAN)
