THE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Wednesday warned motorists to desist from driving without valid driver’s license or face the wrath of the law.
The Ondo State Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr Ezekiel SonAllah, made the disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the command’s preparedness towards Ember Months flag off (September to December) in the state. He said the ember months flag off was to sensitise and educate road users on how best to use the road.
He said that it had become imperative for motorists who ply the roads, especially highways, to obtain genuine driver’s license before embarking on any journey.
“Driver’s license is the only legal document that permits a person to be on the road to drive and if one doesn’t have it, then, one has no business driving. Sometimes, people will tell you they forgot their driver’s license. At any point in time, if you don’t have a driver’s license, you are not a driver because what guarantees or shows you are a driver is when you are in possession of your driver’s license.
“So, I want to tell motorists that if you don’t have driver’s license in the ember months in Ondo State, you have no business being on the highways because you are already a potential danger,” he said.
While noting that the ember months were always characterised by high vehicular movements because of the end of the year’s activities, Mr SonAllah said the corps will ensure that road traffic crashes were prevented or reduced to the barest minimum. He therefore called on road users to play their roles whenever they are driving by obeying traffic rules and regulations at all times.
“As a driver, passenger or pedestrian, you can play your role in a way it is supposed to be. Drivers are expected to concentrate while driving and understand their responsibility. They are directly responsible for the life of anybody that boards their vehicles till he alights from it.
“Passengers should watch the behaviours of their drivers and report their misbehaviour at any check point on the road, either military or police not necessarily FRSC checkpoints because in any event of crashes, more passengers die than drivers,” he said.
Mr SonAllah, who commended the state government for its massive road construction and rehabilitation, said the command had identified all the gridlock spots across the state with a view to managing them adequately throughout the ember months. He called on parents not to allow their children, under 18 years, to drive, saying that under-aged children are not qualified to drive on highways.
