FRSC To Deploy 1,000 Marshals For ‘Ember Months’ Special Patrol In Rivers

The Federal Road Safety Crops (FRSC) has said that it will deploy 1,000 regular and special marshals for the 2024 ‘Ember Months’ special patrol on major roads in Rivers State.

The state’s sector commander, Inyang Umoh, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt on Tuesday while briefing journalists on preparations for the launch of 2024 ‘Ember Month’ Safety Campaigns, said all the seven unit commands in the state will participate in the exercise.

The theme of this year’s campaign, which will feature road shows and stakeholder meeting, is: “Speak Up Against Dangerous Driving: Crashes Kill More Passengers than Drivers.”

Umoh said: “With the regular marshals and special marshals, we will be deploying 1,000 personnel for the Ember Month Special Patrol. We have seven unit commands and all of them will participate in the exercise.”

He stated that ‘Ember Months’ are usually a period where there is an increase in movement of persons and goods, pointing out that the increase in movement comes with high incidence of road traffic crashes which are avoidable.

The sector commander insisted that road crashes occur due to over-speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking, use of drugs, alcohol abuse while driving, distracted driving, use of worn-out tyres, underage driver, driving against traffic, and general disobedience to traffic rules and regulations.

Umoh said: “The truth is that Ember Months are usually period where there is an increase in movement of persons and goods. Families all over Africa which Nigeria is no exception use the period for festivals, reunions, age grade meetings, marriages, burials of love ones.

“This increase in movement comes with high incidence of road traffic crashes which are avoidable. Human lives, properties are lost. This is totally not acceptable to FRSC.

“These crashes happen due to speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking, use of drugs, alcohol abuse while driving, distracted driving, use of worn out tyres. underage driver, driving against traffic, and general disobedience to traffic rules and regulations.”