Group sensitises Bauchi drivers, stakeholders on road traffic use

Worried by constant fatalities caused by dangerous driving, particularly among commercial drivers, a one-day sensitisation workshop has been organised for drivers and other stakeholders in the driving sector.

The sensitization which was held on Sunday, was organised by a Bauchi-based group, Advocacy for Integrity and Rule of Law Initiative (AIRLIN).

The organisation decried the incessant loss of lives on the roads across the state, attributing it to consumption of hard drugs by drivers thereby causing avoidable deaths through fatal crashes.

The Coordinator of AIRLIN, Mahmoud Mohammed Abubakar, while speaking at the one-day workshop for drivers, said that the group identified that human errors were major contributing factors to road crashes in the state.

According to him, “And that is why we decided to gather the drivers to train them by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Police.

“We noticed that taking hard drugs, lack of knowledge and underage driving are part of the causes that are sending our people to early graves, and that is what prompted us to train them.”

FRSC Bauchi Sector Commander, Patrick Ikaba said that the drivers were trained on safe driving and speed caution.

Represented by Nasir Musa Mohammed, the Provost of Corps, Patrick Ikaba said, “Most of the road crashes are caused by overspeeding and taking of illicit drugs by drivers.

“We urge anyone who wants to drive to seek proper knowledge of driving for us to have a safer road and reduce the number of casualties.”

One of the drivers, Abubakar Usman applauded the organisers for the life-saving workshop which he said had exposed them to the need for caution while on the wheels.

According to him, “To be sincere, there are so many safety precautions I have never known in the past that are good for me, I just learnt them here.

“I am glad to be part of this training, so many of our colleagues have been killed by some of these minor mistakes that we don’t take seriously.”

The training was attended by the Rector, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP), Bauchi, who commended the organizers and expressed the resolve of the Polytechnic to be a partner to the efforts.

Also in attendance were the official drivers association, Police and others who have a stake in the road sector affairs.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in the fourth quarter of 2023, 657 people were involved in various road traffic crashes while 407 casualties were recorded.

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