Mr Abdulrazak Najume, Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps in Bauchi, said road mishaps through head-on collision of vehicles could be reduced drastically if road users always swerved to the right while trying to avoid potholes.
In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bauchi, Najume, observed that most head-on-collision of vehicles were caused by the grave error of ‘swerving to the left’ in attempting to avoid obstacles or potholes, thereby veering of into the path of incoming vehicles.
He described the mistake of veering off to the path of incoming vehicles as ‘most suicidal’ as the collision of forces from opposite direction was often ‘ghastly’ and the chances of survival of occupants of vehicles involved, ‘very slim’.
The commander observed that most road users were in the habit of making this grave mistake, either out of ignorance, or sheer recklessness.
“Many drivers do dodge small potholes to their left hand side instead of entering it; if they must dodge, they should dodge to their right hand side.
“It is just suicide dodging potholes to the left hand side, but if you must go by the left, you must be sure that you are safe from vehicles that are coming from the opposite direction.
“Most of the drivers do not know this and those who are aware, do not adhere to the rules; this is why most of them end up in head-on collision because nothing can stop the vehicle on speed.
“Most alarming is that some road users, not only swerve to the left while avoiding obstacles, but do so at sharp bends where they cannot see anything coming from the opposite direction.
“This is why we always educate them to always keep and maintain their lane,” he admonished
Najume also observed that most of the commercial vehicle drivers in the park were not qualified to drive, with some of them being victims of hard drugs.
The commander,however, reiterated that the Corps would not relent in making sure that road users abided by all safety rules, to ensure the protection of lives. (NAN)
