Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in collaboration with the Nigeria Breweries (NB) has charged motorists not to drink while driving to avoid road crashes.
Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Mr Boboye Owoyemi, said this on Tuesday in Otukpo, Benue state, during the flag off this year’s “Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign in the state.
Owoyemi, represented by the Corps’ Director of Public Enlightenment, Imor Etuek, said intake of alcohol by drivers while about driving had always been responsible for most road crashes on the highways.
He advised them to respect traffic regulations and the enforcers of traffic laws, especially during the Yuletide.
The FRSC top brass said that the Yuletide usually attracts high traffic density on the highways.
He, therefore, called on motorists to always exercise patience and caution during the season so as to minimize actions usually associated with traffic congestions.
Also speaking, the FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Chidibere Nkwonta, said the combined effects of alcohol, dangerous driving and speeding accounted for 61 per cent of road crashes in 2014.
He regretted that alcohol consumption was the catalyst for the other factors responsible for road crashes in the country.
Also, the Managing Director of the NBL, Mr Nicolaas Vervelde, in a keynote address, commended the collaboration between his organisation and the FRSC on responsive drinking for motorists.
Vervelde, represented by the Public Affairs Manager, Mr Patrick Ejido, said the company was committed to ensuring safe-drinking habits as a way of safeguarding the country’s highways.
He said its effort to sustain safety on the highways was the company’s modest way of promoting road safety for the purpose of saving lives.
According to him, the company in collaboration with FRSC has held several sensitisation workshops across the country to enlighten motorists on responsive drinking.
Also speaking, the Ochi Idoma, Elias Ikoyi Obekpa, represented by the chief of Idoma , Samuel Onu, advised motorists to avoid arguments on the highways, claiming that only the living claims rights. (NAN)
