‘Unregistered vehicles pose security threats’

Bello Aminu Masari, the executive governor of Katsina State has that the presence of unregistered vehicles on the road is escalating the security challenges t in some parts of the country.
Making this submission while receiving a delegation from the Federal Road Safety Corps, led by the Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi at the government house in Katsina State, Masari also observed that the presence of unregistered tricycles popularly called “Keke Marwa”, has contributed to a large extent, to increasing cases of abduction and other related social vices, since there are no records attached to operators of such vehicles.
He stated that most cases of road traffic crashes can be linked to the presence of very rickety vehicles with obvious mechanical defects even in the face of government’s directive on the age limit of vehicles which should be operated on Nigerian roads.
Masari frowned at the sad and unpatriotic activities of petroleum products transporters who carry cargoes of up to 60,000 litres on the highways, instead of the maximum of 33,000 litres approved by law.
Such attitude he said exceeds the capacity of load recommended for the highways, with attendant grievous consequences on the state of the roads. The governor urged the FRSC, Ministry of Interior, Nigeria Custom Service and other agencies to build stronger ties to stamp out the presence of such vehicles on the nation’s highways.
He also disclosed that the State House of Assembly will soon sign into law, the establishment of a traffic management agency to further address traffic-related and road safety matters.
On his part, Boboye Oyeyemi, FRSC Corps Marshal, commended the state government for donating an office complex which is still undergoing construction, to the State Sector Command of the FRSC and said the courtesy visit was designed to further strengthen existing partnership with the state government on road safety management and traffic administration.
Oyeyemi stated that though vehicle inspection does not fall directly under the purview of FRSC, this development underscores the Corps’ repeated call for the establishment of traffic agencies in all states to further complement the roles of the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and the FRSC to ensure safer road use.
He recalled that the FRSC has set up a machinery towards reducing crashes during the Ember season such as the proposed commencement of enforcement of speed limiters on commercial vehicles on October 1, 2016 and other strategies which will contribute towards realizing the Corps’ 2016 strategic goals of reducing road crashes and fatalities by 15% and 25% respectively.
The Corps Marshal also stated that the FRSC had earlier embarked on a nationwide sensitization exercise on tyre safety and added that the proposed speed limit device enforcement in the 2 days (1st October), will not involve impounding vehicles, but subtle engagement of commercial vehicle owners on the relevance of the device on vehicles because according to him, speed limit violation accounted for 58% of road traffic crashes in the last 4 years.