Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that achieving a reduction in road crashes depends on activities of fleet operators in the country.
Speaking with journalists at the bi-annual RS 8 zonal retreat for officials of the corps in Ilorin on Thursday, the zonal commanding officer RS 8, ACM Amarauche Nwaka, called for cooperation and collaboration of relevant stakeholders in transport business with the corps.
Describing fleet operators as major stakeholders in road safety activities, the FRSC boss said that efforts of the corps would amount to nothing if they do not participate in road safety operations.
“These people are organised road users with many safety managers, professional drivers in their employment. They know what it takes to ensure road safety. So, in order to manage our road effectively and reduce crashes, these fleet owners and the FRSC need to work together. Our mandate is to have zero crash or reduce crashes on our roads. So, we should ensure that fleet is safe and operators maintain their reputation of crash-free operations,” she said.
Nwaka, who said that the retreat aimed to improve on the performance of the zone, charged operators to be part of mainstream activities of road safety in partnership with the corps.
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The retreat, themed, improved programmes and processes to enhance road safety management, had officers and men of the corps, driving school and fleet operators in Kwara, Kogi and Ekiti states in attendance.
Also speaking, the Kwara State sector commander of the FRSC, Wihioka commended fleet operators in the state for their sense of responsibility, saying that the organized transport group had helped to reduce crashes on roads in parts of the state.
Wihioka said in the area of data collection, operations of these fleet operators is very key and can help the nation’s economic development. It will enable us to make adequate analysis on road users, improve on their own operations, and that of other organized transport business operators like the NURTW among others.