The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it will not hesitate to sanction and prosecute fleet operators over non-compliance with safety standards across the country.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, said this during the 2023 annual safety managers retreat on Thursday in Abuja.
Biu, who was represented by the Assistant Corps Marshal, (ACM) Ms Amuche Nwaka, said the Corps would no longer tolerate the failure of fleet operators to adhere strictly to the terms of the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS).
The FRSC boss said the retreat was intended to appraise and address notable observations made by the Corps regarding the management of fleet operations in the country in the last year and associated consequences.
He said investigations revealed that most recorded fleet operations-related crashes in the country could have been avoided if the concerned safety managers had been committed to their roles.
“This retreat is, therefore, a wake-up call to all of us to further justify our roles as safety managers,” he said.
Biu said in the past few editions of the annual retreat, the Corps had consistently laid emphasis on areas of observed decline.
This, he said, was with regard to the general implementation of the RTSSS, particularly the issue of Speed Limiting Devices (SLD).
Biu said that at the most recent appraisal of public transportation in the country, the level of compliance remained unacceptably low.
“Specific lapses observed included non-installation of Speed Limit Device (SLD), tampering with the already installed device, calibration above the approved speed limits, connivance with unscrupulous vendors for issuance of compliance certificates without actual installation, and so on.
“These shall no longer be tolerated as the Corps will not hesitate to sanction non-compliant operators henceforth,” he said.
Biu, who reflected on the outcome of the 2022 fleet operators certification exercise as well as the aforementioned observed gaps, said measures backed by law would come into force.
He said, “All observed non-compliant fleet operators in any of the identified areas will be served with pre-action notices for prosecution and there is no going back on this.
“Fleet operators who refused to allow certification teams access to their premises will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
“Fleet operators who fail to meet certification standards twice will be suspended from operations.
“Certified vehicle stickers shall be issued only for vehicles installed with functional Speed Limiting Devices.”
We’ll prosecute fleet operators over safety standards violation – FRSC
