Cross River State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Ekpenyong Cobham has disclosed that only 10 percent of drivers in the state passed through driving schools.
Cobham disclosed this during a sectoral workshop organised by the state command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, held in Calabar, yesterday.
Speaking at the workshop with the theme: ‘Driving RS6.2 Excellence Through Productivity Enhancement,’ the commissioner said regulating traffic in the city had been challenging because even the 10 percent of drivers who were privileged to pass through driving schools refused to practice what they were taught.
According to him, the other category of drivers are the “transitory drivers,” that never went to a driving school but transited from bike riding, to riding tricycle and subsequently commercial vehicles.
“There is no absence of requisite regulations on our roads, but drivers with bad attitude.
“In my two years as a commissioner, I discovered that the fundamental problem in the transportation sector is purely attitudinal.
“So, I am not happy that I am not seeing representatives of all the transport unions here,” he lamented.
He called on FRSC officials not to give in to gratification, instead, “they should objectively and professionally whip recalcitrant road users back into line.”
On his part, the Corps Commander, Innocent Etuk said the aim of the workshop is to train and retrain FRSC officials to improve their mode of operations to deliver positive outcomes and reduce crashes.
“This training aims to make officials of the corps up-to-date with global best practices and improve their productivity in traffic management,” he noted.
He added that the corps had introduced a reward system for personnel that have improved themselves in operational capacity in traffic and safety management on the road.
Similarly, the Commissioner of Police, Rashid Afegbua commended FRSC for organising the workshop towards curbing road crashes.
Represented by the State Traffic Officer, CSP Uduak Boniface, Afegbua, however, appealed for proper driving test and due process before issuance of drivers license.
Also, the State Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Mr Charles Brown lauded FRSC for its robust synergy with NSCDC and other agencies in the state.
He commended FRSC for the automation of the drivers licensing process.
The commandant added that FRSC had been a strong national institution that has helped in maintaining sanity on roads.
During the technical session, participants were lectured on “Effective Report Renditions as a Measure for Operational Efficiency and Road Safety Work Ethics and Productivity”.
