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Tough times await drivers and owners of vehicles with expired tyres in Nigeria as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is set to start impounding such vehicles as from next week.
FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, who disclosed this at a capacity development workshop for Zonal and Sector Heads of Operations of the commission in Enugu, the Enugu State capital, on Thursday, said he would personally lead a team during the exercise.
Oyeyemi said: “We have a major problem in our hands. Our management team will be in the field next week to enforce the ban on usage of expired tyres on our roads.
“I will personally lead a team that will impound vehicles with expired tyres and secure other vehicles to convey passengers in affected vehicles to their destinations.”
He disclosed that the use of expired tyres and overspeeding were among the most significant challenges in traffic management in the country currently.
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According to the Corps Marshal, the rising rate of road crashes is alarming, saying more than 90 per cent of such incidents, between Feb. 9 and April 7, were as a result of tyre burst.
Oyeyemi added that the commission would also embark on sensitization of motorists on the dangers of using expired tyres, saying that the step was part of the efforts to minimise road crashes.
He said that use of old tyres had accounted for many fatal auto crashes.
“Tyres are like drugs and last for four years. Some cars move on (with) tyres produced in 2008,” he said.
The corps marshal said that FRSC had recorded significant success in checking crashes involving articulated vehicles was out to replicate same success on vehicles with expired tyres.
He said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had shown interest in securing Nigerian roads by releasing funds to the commission for its operation.
“We must appreciate the president because for the past 28 years, we have never received 100 per cent capital allocation.
“For the first time we got that this year; 90 per cent of the allocation is for procurement of vehicles and these vehicles will be commissioned by the president on Monday, May 16.
“More than N1.8 billion was invested into vehicle procurement and this is the highest number of procurement of vehicles we have ever done in the history of the commission,” he said.
“You must go all out to educate. We must save all those lives; those crashes must be brought down,” Oyeyemi added.
Earlier, the Deputy Corps Marshal (Operations), Mr Adei Abu, had charged the workshop participants to address issues of alleged extortion against FRSC officials.
The theme of the two-day workshop is ‘Enhancing Operational Activities in Field Commands’. (NAN)
