RECKLESSNESS OF TIPPER DRIVERS WILL NO LONGER BE CONDONED IN ANAMBRA STATE

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said that it will no longer condone the recklessness of tipper drivers in Anambra State.

The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr. Sunday Ajayi, made this known while briefing newsmen at the end of a meeting with the leadership of the Tipper Owners and Drivers Association (TODAS) on Tuesday in Awka.

Ajayi stated that the recklessness of the tipper drivers is “intimidating” and “killing people on the road”. He said the sector would conduct free Vehicle Safety Checks to ensure the road-worthiness of tippers given “the number of lives that are involved when they get involved in crashes”.

“Something urgent has to be done especially in the observed areas of safety and security threats as their activities portend. We want to say as a command that we cannot continue to watch tipper drivers killing people on the road. We cannot continue to watch tipper drivers intimidating people on the road. We cannot continue to watch tipper drivers not getting it right on the road.

“As a command, we are going to conduct free vehicle safety checks. It is not the number of crashes that they are involved in but the number of lives that are involved when they get involved in crashes.”

Ajayi praised the leadership of the association for its willingness to work with FRSC to ensure safety of road users in the state.

In his remarks, the Chairman of TODAS in Anambra, Chief Mathias Okejiofor, expressed concern over the increasing rate of road accidents involving members of the Association. Okejiofor also expressed the association’s willingness to ensure that tippers were always in good road condition.

He also said the association would ensure that it built the capacity of tipper drivers. He expressed appreciation to the Sector Commander for his commitment at ensuring an accident-free state.

“All the Sector Commander said is correct. Every day, people call to tell us about accidents involving our tippers and it is not good for our business. We promise him that we are going to work with him to ensure our operations become better. So we are happy with the meeting and the outcome.”