The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has expressed worry over the flagrant abuse of road safety rules by operators of shuttle bus in Awka, Anambra.
Mr Andrew Kumapayi, Sector Commander of the commission in the state, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Awka.
“The operators of shuttle bus which are largely Students Union branded should exercise greater caution in the interest of their lives and those of their passengers,’’ he said.
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He said some of the observed violations among them were lane indiscipline, picking and dropping passengers at dangerous points of the expressway.
He said the highway was a serious traffic environment which people should not take for granted.
The FRSC boss also frowned at the actions of the operators who mobilised their colleagues in protest whenever any of them was reprimanded.
“I am warning the operators that such will not be tolerated anymore as anyone involved will be made to face the law.
“These shuttle bus operators under student union violate traffic laws at will.
“They don’t have lane discipline, they cause gridlock with the way they pick and drop passengers in unauthorised places including under the flyovers.
“The worrisome thing is that when you want to call them to order they mobilise their members to start protest.
“The Commission will no longer tolerate this, we are urging their leaders to call them to order.
“We are ready to partner and educate them on proper use of the road but we shall not condone traffic indiscipline from anybody again,” he said.
One of the leaders of the shuttle bus operators, simply identified as Igwe said they had no issues with the FRSC and would work with its men to ensure safer roads.
Igwe said the shuttle operators had constant sensitisation for their drivers to ensure they were qualified to use the road and reminded of their expected behaviour on the road.
“We don’t have any problem with FRSC, what happened was isolated case where a driver who was impounded refused to pay the tow fee, but we have resolved all that,” he said. (NAN)
