Time To Check Activities Of Killer Drivers

The suggestion by the Ekiti State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Francis Udoma that stiffer penalty should be given to drivers of commuter buses or commercial motorcycle operators responsible for the death of their passengers should be taken seriously by the authorities to stem the carnage on our roads.

The rate at which commuters and pedestrians are knocked down and killed nowadays by commuter drivers and motorists alike, is becoming alarming and something urgent should be done to safeguard their lives.

Hardly does a day passes without one commuter or pedestrian being killed as a result of the recklessness or carelessness of the driver or motorcyclists rushing to pick more passengers. According to the FRSC, more Nigerians are being killed daily as a result of the insensitivity and indifference of commuter bus drivers and commercial motorcyclists, a.k.a. Okada.

To tackle this challenge, Udoma called on the police to be more alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that killer drivers do not escape justice. He posited that it is only in Nigeria that one hears of accidents claiming innocent souls without being told what became of the drivers who caused such tragic ends.

We cannot but align our position with the Ekiti FRSC boss. Unless a drastic action is taken against drivers who think they can just waste precious lives and get away with it, carnage on Nigerian roads will continue to be on the increase.

It is our contention that the police have a great role to play in stemming this carnage. We say this because it is the police that have the constitutional power to arrest and prosecute careless drivers. Instead of releasing killer drivers due to lack of diligent prosecution after arraigning them on a charge of manslaughter in the court, it is time the law enforcement officers change their attitude by bringing culprits to book to serve as a lesson to others.

The punishment for the offence of manslaughter, according to Section 325 of the Criminal Code, is life imprisonment. We make haste to ask, how many drivers charged with reckless driving on a public highway or failing to procure a valid driving licence whose action have contributed to the death of a commuter or pedestrian on the public highway have been found guilty of the offence and sentenced to life imprisonment.

It is because killer drivers were not given the appropriate punishment that emboldened others in their shoes to commit the same offence.

This is why we are appealing to the police to take the prosecution of drivers charged with senseless killing of commuters and pedestrians seriously by prosecuting the cases diligently.

Apart from the police, the licensing authorities also have a role to play in stemming killing by unlicensed drivers. Efforts should be made by the vehicle licensing authorities to ensure that only those who have gone to approved driving schools are given driving licence.

The driving curriculum should also be revised to lay more emphasis on safety and value for human life. Trainees must be examined closely to determine their vision, state of mental and psychological wellbeing, as well as physical make up.

It is when all these are done that commuters and pedestrians will be safe from senseless deaths on our roads.