YOUTHS AS A VANGUARD OF ROAD SAFETY (1)

In the words of a past Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, “knowledge is power, Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”. With that in mind,
allow me to define some keywords in this piece.

‘Vanguard’ in this context refers to a group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘Vanguard’ as “the group of people who are leaders of an action or movement in society politics, art, etc.” I find that an apt description of the youths, or what the youth should be, since that demographic defines the success or failure of a nation and its economy. According to the Nigerian constitution, a youth can be defined as an individual whose age ranges between 18 – 40 years age. The Collins English Dictionary defines road safety as “the avoidance of danger on the road” thus it refers to the methods or measures employed to reduce the risk of the average road user getting seriously injured or killed. As such, failure to adhere to these rules of road usage could lead to Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) with varying levels of injuries incurred.

Historians would agree that the traffic situation before the establishment of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the umbrella body that governs and regulates Nigerian traffic laws, was best described as unpredictable and dangerous due to the unprecedented wave of road traffic accidents with the consequent colossal human and material losses. At this time, it would seem that public awareness and interest in Road Safety was minimal. Deliberate policies and concerted effort at enforcing regulations was lacking. Quantitatively, road traffic accidents fatality index as at 1987 was 302 at 16 deaths per 1,000 vehicles. In response to the Road Safety question, Federal Military Government at that time established the Federal Road Safety Commission in 1988 by Decree 45 of 1988 as amended by Decree 35 of 1992 (FRSC Act Cap 141, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990).

The FRSC as a regulatory body is empowered to design and produce drivers’ licenses to be used by various categories of vehicle operators and determine, from time to time, the requirements to be satisfied by an applicant for a driver’s license. Their other duties include: the prevention and minimization of accidents on the highways and clearing obstructions on any part of those highways; educating drivers, motorists and other members of the public generally on the proper use of the highways; designing and producing vehicle number plates and standardizing highway traffic  codes; give prompt attention and care to victims of accidents and conduct researches into causes of motor accidents and methods of preventing them as well as putting into use the result of such researches.

Also, the FRSC is empowered to determine and enforce speed limits for all categories of vehicles and adopt the use of speed limiting devices; cooperate with other bodies or agencies or groups in Road Safety activities to prevent accidents on the highways; make regulations in pursuance of any of the functions assigned to the corps under this Act; regulate the use of sirens, flashers and beacon lights on vehicles other than ambulances and those belonging to the Armed Forces, Nigerian police, Fire service and other paramilitary agencies as well as provide roadside and mobile clinics for the treatments of accident victims free of change.

To be continued...
YOUTHS AS A VANGUARD OF ROAD SAFETY (2)

@NiranNoni
@ostheblog

Advert