The Benue Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Friday began a-four-day free safety check on vehicles.
Speaking with newsmen after the check at Kanda Cruise and Ihuto Motors parks in Makurdi, Mr Steve Ayodele, the state Sector Commander of FRSC, said the exercise was conceived because the command prioritised safety of road users.
Ayodele also said that the exercise was one of the proactive measures by the command to enlighten road users on the importance of putting their vehicles in good shape before plying the roads.
According to him, the safety of all road users is paramount to the corps.
“It is our earnest desire to reduce road crashes to the barest minimum.
“The free vehicle safety check is one of the proactive measures adopted by the FRSC to enlighten road users on the importance of putting their vehicles in good shape before plying the roads.
“The essence of this programme is to inspect the vehicles, point out to the owners, areas that need to be fixed, because we want all vehicles plying our roads to be in good shape for the safety of road users.
“That is why instead of carrying out the exercise in one day, this time, because it is within the ember months, we are going to do it for four days.
“We will take our time and educate motorists very well within these days,” he said.
The sector commander said that the exercise would be carried out at various motor parks, churches, mosques and other public places.
He disclosed that the state recorded 94 road accidents from January to June, adding that 33 persons lost their lives in the process and 133 others sustained various degrees of injuries.
“We feel that this should not continue that is why we are carrying out this programme to ensure that road crashes reduce,” he said.
He said that the major cause of road accident in the state was speed limit violation (speeding), and urged motorists to install speed limiting device. (NAN)
