Why FRSC seeks maximum punishment for offenders – Oyeyemi

The Federal Road Safety Commission says its enabling law is undergoing amendment to include community service as a form of punishment for traffic offenders.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
Oyeyemi said punishments on motorists, especially in urban areas, were unsatisfactory because the motorists engaged in all sorts of lawless activities.
According to him, the motorists drive and use phones, beat traffic lights and drive on pavements.
He said: “This is a barbaric attitude to compliance.
“It is not correct and we will continue to press for maximum punishment.
“There was a public hearing recently in respect of our Act.
“It is being amended to include community service so that people that have contravened the law instead of being fined are sentenced to community service.
“It is going to the third reading and once it is approved, then it will go for concurrent with the Senate.
“Then, the president will sign it into law before it will be implemented.
“This means that during working hours, when you are supposed to go to work and you find yourself in motor parks cleaning the place or sweeping other public places, then you will behave yourself.”
Oyeyemi said that this was why Abuja alone had 10 mobile and conventional courts to make those prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
He said the FRSC would increase the number of its mobile courts from about 200 nationwide to 250.
This, he said, was in view of the decision of the commission to lay more emphasis on the prosecution of road traffic offenders, seeing that the rate of compliance was yet to reach a satisfactorily level.
He said since Nigerians had cried against fine, prosecution would be the best option to consider.
Oyeyemi appreciated the Chief Judge of the FCT and the entire judiciary for their firmness in sentencing offenders to prison without giving an option of fines.
He said: “I commend the judiciary for interpreting the traffic regulations very well and ensuring that maximum punishment is given to offenders.
“We are also losing our personnel.
“This week alone, we have lost one officer and some others to injuries.
“This is why we will continue to press for maximum punishment for violators.”
Oyeyemi said while road crashes had reduced drastically, truck drivers had continued to be a great challenge on the road by their refusal to adhere to traffic rules.
He, therefore, said that henceforth, any truck carrying passengers instead of loads would be impounded and the driver prosecuted.
He said: “This is not acceptable.
“In December alone, three incidents were recorded claiming 53 lives.”
Oyeyemi said commercial vehicles were the highest involved in crashes as a result of speed, adding that was why the speed limiting device was introduced.
He said the public hearing for the speed limiting device was last week, adding that the committee would submit its report to the National Assembly for deliberation.
NAN.