Passengers have been urged to exercise their rights to safety on the roads to avert road mishaps, especially these ember months.
The Sector Commander, Nasarawa Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, CC Lucie-Samuel Mhii, stated this in Lafia on Tuesday while flagging off the 2024 ember months campaign.
Speaking on the theme, “Speak up against dangerous driving; crashes kill more passengers than drivers”, the sector commander reiterated the Corps Marshal’s directives on re-educating passengers and helping them understand their rights.
Quoting her, “The agreement between the driver and the passengers is clear: the driver must ensure that the passengers reach their destinations safely. Passengers have a right not to be injured, killed, harassed, or have their rights violated. By empowering passengers, we aim to reduce road traffic crashes.”
She added that deliberate measures had been put in place to “actively engage commuters, ensuring they are familiar with safety regulations, report reckless driving, use seatbelts, and support responsible driving”.
She urged passengers to avoid distractions and contribute to safe road use, adding that most of the time, passengers were the most affected in the event of traffic crashes, hence the need for them to start speaking up.
She commended the collaborative relationship between the command, the state, the press, and other critical stakeholders in the state, acknowledging their collective efforts in promoting road safety.
According to her, “The task of ensuring a safer motoring environment in Nigeria is a crucial and collective responsibility. Relevant stakeholders in the road transportation sector are invited to work together with the Corps to address road carnage.
“Motorists are expected to take full responsibility of their actions and inactions on the road by maintaining their vehicles, obeying traffic laws, and other road regulations.
“We must take proactive steps to provide hope, not fear, when using our roads as the consequences of our actions or inactions will be severe if we fail to address these challenges.”