The Federal Road Safety Corps has enjoined Nigerians to obey traffic rules to reduce the high rate of road accidents.

The Chief Route Commander, Unit Commander FRSC, Isolo Unit Command, Uko O Uko, made the appeal during a sensitisation programme at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Catholic Church, Okota, Lagos.

Mr Uko said the visit to the church was part of their contributions to sensitise the masses towards road traffic reduction.

He added that it was an avenue used to enlist special marshals who would volunteer to join the FRSC in traffic management.

He stated, “You can see some of them are dressed in blue jackets, they are men and women with proven integrity. We realised that this community, Greenfield Estate, is quite a large one and they are always having gridlock and we have the technical know-how as regards traffic management and decided to visit this church to raise a special marshal unit that will take care of traffic management in this community. And thankfully in all the five masses we attended, the parish priest magnanimously gave us the opportunity to address the parishioners and we have got enough people that are interested in joining forces with us to fight road traffic.’’

He noted that FRSC was 36 years old today and were grateful to God for the achievements so far.

Mr Uko said it had not been easy but the metamorphosis of FRSC had been achieved.

He said, “I assure you that the FRSC is properly positioned as a world-class organisation in road traffic management. There should be attitudinal change to road traffic issues, people should not be in a hurry, the road is not a race course, be patient, tolerant and be considerate of other road users. If we all obey traffic rules and regulations, the road crashes will be a thing of the past.’’

He said that the major challenges he faced as a until commander was that people find it impossible to obey traffic laws but the corps was doing well in provision of logistics and material to make their work easy.

The FRSC Lagos Sector Commander, Corps Commander, Babatunde Farinloye, urged the public to use their common sense to determine their speed.

Mr Farinloye described speed as the major cause of crashes on the road.

Represented by the sector commander, the Chief Route Commander, Victor Okelola, said road crashes could not be ruled out but could be managed to avoid deaths.

Mr Farinloye noted that part of the FRSC’s functions was education, sensitisation of people, design and production of drivers licence and number plate.

He, however, stressed that one aspect that people did not like was enforcement.

“Issuing of ticketing is universal, even when you go to other climes, ticketing is a system of administering a little corrective measures. If you don’t want to be a scapegoat, there is the need for us to obey all traffic rules and regulations. FRSC is not wicked as people say when they see them on the road, they turn the other side.

“If you are doing the right thing, once a ticket is issued, go and pay it. The ticket is not a death sentence, it is a means of correction and seven days grace is given for one to pay,” he said.

On achievement over the years, he said that they had been able through the mandate given to them to reduce carnages on our roads, and there was still room for improvement to make sure a safer road was achieved.

He said, “In FRSC, we have three tiers of government, the regular marshals in uniform under the payroll of government, special marshals, honourable men and women in society. These men help us to teach others, carryout advocacy which is what we have done today. The corps members are part of the FRSC and we appreciate them for their roles in society.’’

Earlier, during the sermon, Parish Priest, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Catholic Church, Okota, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Iheanacho, urged the parishioners to always observe and obey traffic laws.

According to Mr Iheanacho, driving safely and obeying traffic laws will ensure one gets to their destination

He added, “Order is the first law of God, so we need to practice orderliness, even God told us to listen to his son’s law for us to live a righteous life. For the road safety corps, they are working for God, keeping order and God supports them and that is why we say if the Lord Almighty does not watch the city, we watch in vain and that is why we need to support the laws of the land.’’

The day witnessed medical and insurance talks.

(NAN)