The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has ordered his field operatives to clampdown on overloaded private school vehicles plying Nigerian roads.
This, he said, was part of organised efforts to reduce crashes involving vehiles conveying school children.
Oyeyemi disclosed this in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO) Mr Bisi Kazeem on Saturday in Abuja.
He directed Sector Commanders across the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory to impound at sight, any private school bus carrying more than the required number of school children in the bus.
“This operation will be carried out in the morning and afternoon when schools close for the day.
“The clampdown has become very necessary going by the deliberate efforts made by school proprietors, their management and the bus drivers to make mockery of established laws possibly to achieve some economic gains.
” And this is at the detriment of the lives of the school children conveyed to and fro school by those busses.
” We have tried to enlighten these drivers and the proprietors on many occasions to make them comply with the minimum safety standards on passengers carriage but they kept contravening the laws.
“The corps is championing child safety campaign as it targets to reduce and possibly eradicate all crashes involving school children on our roads, ” he said.
In the same vein, the corps marshal has also directed re-training of all drivers of this category nationwide to further concretize the anticipated total safety of school children.
Oyeyemi urged the public to help the corps achieve success in the campaign by tunning into the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM to report any of such buses seen with overloaded school children, obstruction or emergency noticed on the road for immediate action.
“The station can also be reached through its Social Media Handles as follows; WhatsApp 08052997848, Facebook trafficradio1, Twitter @ trafficradio1, Instagram @ trafficradio1.
“Or call the following numbers; GLO 08052998090, MTN 09067000015, and SMS on GLO 08052998012 and the FRSC toll free emergency line 122.
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