The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed, has warned driving school operators to shun sharp practices and other illegal activities that would compromise safety on the roads.

Mr Mohammed gave the warning on Thursday during this year’s national workshop for driving school proprietors and instructors organised by the corps in Gombe.

The theme of the workshop is “Entrenching Highway Safety in Nigeria Through Standardised Drivers and Riders Training.”

Mr Mohammed, represented by the Gombe Sector Commander of the corps, Samson Kaura, said that it was imperative for the operators to prioritise professionalism and improved road safety.

He also said that the driving school operators were critical stakeholders in the effort toward ensuring safety on the highways.

“It is in view of this that the agency is strengthening the capacity of the operators while cautioning them against practices that could undermine safety on the roads,” Mr Mohammed said.

According to him, the FRSC has been training driving school operators through its Driving Schools Standardisation Programme (DSSP) aimed at improving quality, uniformity and integrity of drivers’ training nationwide.

“However, there are still significant gaps as some schools continue to cut corners and some prioritise profit over safety. Some struggle with infrastructural deficits, regulatory compliance and the professional development of their instructors,” he said.

Mr Mohammed further said that the workshop provided the stakeholders the opportunity to collectively address human-related errors, which he described as the leading cause of road traffic accidents.

He described the operators as “partners bound by a shared mission: to produce drivers and riders who value human life, obey traffic laws and contribute positively to the national economy.’’

He admonished the operators to appreciate the responsibility they owe to society through credible discharge of the tasks and upholding the ethics and standards of the profession.

He expressed optimism that the standard in the operations of driving schools would improve tremendously at the end of the workshop.

The state Governor Inuwa Yahaya commended the FRSC for ensuring sanity on the roads through its DSSP, a gesture, he said, would strengthen highway safety.

Mr Yahaya, represented by his deputy, Manassah Jatau, also called for drug testing on road users in the country to further check careless driving.

The Gombe Chairman of the Driving Schools Association, Victor Akpan, commended the FRSC for organising the training.

He said that the workshop would help to improve the standard of driver and rider training in the North-East and the country in general.

About 80 driving school proprietors and instructors, drawn from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states participated in the training.

(NAN)