CITY NEWS FRSC urges respect for special Tricycle operators to marshals on highways cooperate with DRTS
The FCT sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Corps Commander Ayuba Gora Wobin, has called on motorists to respect the regular marshals of the corps on the highways.
Wobin, who spoke during a national patrol organized by Gwagwalada unit of the FRSC special marshal on Saturday, said the special marshal was the second arm of the regular marshal that has power to arrest, book, prosecute and educate motorists that violate traffic rules and regulations.
He said the special marshal had organized several workshops and seminars on safety on the highways with the aim of reducing crashes.
“So I want to pass the message to the motoring public that anywhere they see special marshals, they should give them the respect just like other uniform personnel on duty,” he said.
The FRSC commander further called on motorists to ensure they obey traffic rules and regulations, adding that the corps is ever ready to prosecute any motorists that violate traffic rules and regulations.
Also speaking, the Gwagwalada unit commander of the FRSC, ACC Sunday Attah, said the command was hosting the national patrol where all the unit commands across the FCT converged on the area to carry out patrol and enlightened the motorists.
He added that the national patrol was also to checkmate some erring motorists, especially commercial drivers who engaged in reckless driving and overloading of their vehicles.
“Most importantly, the activities of the special marshals are to send signals to the public that what they are doing is what we the regular marshals are also doing in terms of curtailing crashes and safety on our roads,” he said. Commercial tricycle operators in Abuja have stated their readiness to cooperate with officers of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) in ensuring sanity in their operations.
The tricycle operators under the aegis of the Abuja Tricycle Riders Association (ATRA) made this known when they paid a courtesy visit to the DRTS director, Wadata Bodinga.
ATRA Chairman, Hassan Haske, also urged the directorate to look into what he described as indiscriminate arrest of members of the association while he reiterated their readiness to cooperate with the officers in ensuring that they ply only approved routes.
He said the association will soon commence biometric data registration of its members in line with the demands of the DRTS.
In his remarks, the DRTS director commended the riders for their willingness to cooperate with the directorate adding that the government is not against their operation as long as it is within estates and hinterlands.
He said the government did not envisage the operation of keke NAPEP within the city, it has made adequate provision to accommodate them, “The government didn’t envisaged operation of tricycles in the FCT, but they are only allowed to operate within the ambit of the law because of their value to the society. For safety and security reasons, tricycles are only allowed to ply along the corridors of residential areas, so as to feed the taxis and high capacity buses.”