The Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) says it will continue to train and retrain dispatch riders for seamless traffic management in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The service’s spokesperson, Kalu Emetu, made this known in an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Emetu said this resulted from the unprofessional conduct of some dispatch riders operating in the FCT, particularly in the city centre.

He said the directorate had been doing a lot to ensure safety on FCT roads, adding that the unprofessional conduct exhibited by some dispatch riders was a major challenge.

“Enforcement of rules has always been our last resort, and before enforcement, training and retraining are frequently organised, sometimes against their wishes, just to get it right.

“And for them to have the Riders’ Certification Card (RCC), they must be seen to have complied with certain expectations, which is always achieved through training.

“So, with the mandate of the DRTS, we always insist on teaching them everything about FCT roads and monitoring their operations to know those who have continued to flout regulations,” he said.

Mr Emetu said all these efforts were geared towards ensuring seamless traffic management.

According to him, when they flout the regulations, the service has no option but to impose stiff penalties on them through heavy fines.

Mr Emetu explained that DRTS had registered over 4,600 despatch riders in the FCT and were operating legally in the territory.

“We had earlier registered 3,600 of them, but later had to add another 1,000 based on complaints, and coupled with the fact that some of them were no longer on the roads.

“Based on our findings, we discovered that about 500 were grounded before we approved the registration of an additional 1,000.

“Those who operate illegally are always picked up and removed from the road by the DRTS operatives,” he said.

On the commercial motorcycles that still operate in unauthorised areas, Mr Emetu said such people always had their motorcycles impounded with no chance of getting them back.

He explained that the DRTS normally approached a competent court of jurisdiction to obtain an order of forfeiture for such motorcycles.

“With the court order, the property automatically becomes that of the government. So, it is now left for the service to decide what to do with it. Most times, it opts for outright crushing of the property,” he said.

(NAN)