The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Ebonyi has said that drivers without licences pose the greatest risk to road users.

The FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Charles Aborchi, made this known at an interactive session with articulated vehicle drivers in Abakaliki on Saturday.

According to him, drivers without licences are not supposed to drive on the roads as they pose the greatest risk to road users.

“In situations where the legal system takes its full course such culprits are penalised because it is unlawful to drive without licences.

“Unfortunately, the system in the society allows such culprits to go free because lawyers are impatient and the culprits’ plea of immediate settlement is accepted.”

The sector commander, therefore, advised articulated vehicle drivers and motorists in general, to visit the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) office to source valid driver’s licences.

“You should not patronise touts who make a living from issuing invalid or fake drivers’ licences to unsuspecting motorists.

“The new method of procuring the licences requires that the driver personally visits the BIR office or download relevant information about the licences from the internet.”

He also warned articulated vehicle drivers of dangerous driving, especially not adhering to his officers’ commands to stop for checks on the roads.

“We recently fined an articulated vehicle driver N80, 000 for not stopping when ordered to stop by our officers as he also hit another articulated vehicle when military personnel assisted us in intercepting him.

“Most of you have FRSC officers from your various localities and would not like them to be crushed by other articulated vehicle drivers.”

The President, Ebonyi Articulated Vehicle Drivers Union, Mr. Sunday Nwode, commended the FRSC for the interaction, noting that the commission had reduced the rate of road carnages in the state.

“We used to record 80 per cent of road carnages involving our members but since the beginning of the year, the rate had reduced to an insignificant 15 per cent.”

Nwode said the union would continue to collaborate with the commission on road safety regulations.

He appealed to the FRSC to be lenient when dealing with its members, stressing that most of them disobey traffic regulations because of undue pressure.

“I am not justifying such actions but most of us are under pressure to make profits by owners of those vehicles and couple with several family problems, among others.”

An FRSC of official in charge of Abakaliki Drivers’Licence Centre, Mr. Reginald Irechukwu, educated the drivers on how to acquire genuine licences.

Mr. Uchenna Iheme, a participant, noted that he would use the knowledge acquired from the session to obey road safety regulations and save lives in the process. (NAN)

•Photo shows FRSC Logo.