This, they observed, is not given the same level of attention by government even though there have been attempts to campaign against it.
According to them, the campaigns have not effected any change in the attitude of Lagos drivers, particularly the commercial bus drivers.
For example, Kayode Abodurin, an undergraduate in one of the tertiary institutions in the state, who shared his recent experience in one of the commercial buses at Maryland bus stop, said he was scared stiff when he discovered that the driver of the commercial bus he boarded had slept off on the wheel.
He said: “The traffic light stopped our vehicle at Maryland for about two minutes. I was reading a novel when I suddenly discovered that the light had passed us and other vehicles were moving. The vehicles behind us were honking at the driver to move. That was when we noticed he had slept off on the steering. It was when we shouted at him and he tried to respond that we discovered he was completely drunk. I had to alight at the next bus-stop to save my life.”
The Guardian’s investigation on the effect of the campaign against drinking and driving, revealed that the leaderships at the motor-parks are not bordered about extending it (the campaign) to the drivers operating in their parks.
As Tunji Komolafe puts it: “I have noticed with dismay commercial bus drivers operating from Ikorodu, Mile 12 through Ikorodu Road, Ojuelegba to Lagos Island most often operating under the influence of alcohol. Most commercial drivers plying the above route behave like touts and their pattern of dressing portray them as drug addicts.”
A visit to some the motor-parks in Lagos revealed that the parks remain a haven for sellers of local gin, known in local parlance as ogogoro and various kinds of concoctions mixed with hot drinks, which drivers take with relish before mounting their vehicles.
The aphrodisiac drinks are also known by different names like paraga, opa ehin, alomo, and kai-kai. For special effects, some of these drinks are often mixed and consumed together with Indian hemp.
However, an official of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) at Berger International Taxi Park, Ojodu, Mr.Taiwo Oduba, said that any driver found driving under the influence of alcohol at the park is seriously reprimanded and in some cases sanctioned.
While conducting The Guardian round the park to prove that they don’t allow the sale of alcohol, he declared: “We conduct seminars for our drivers every fortnight to educate them on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and any driver caught doing that is dismissed from the park immediately.”
To further intensify the campaign, Governor Babatunde Fashola reiterated even recently the need for commercial drivers to desist from taking alcohol, drugs or other related substances.
At such campaign held at New Garage motor park, Bariga, organized by the state’s Ministries of Health and Transportation, in partnership with Guinness Nigeria Plc, the governor said evidence abounds that road traffic accidents are influenced and precipitated by substance abuse, which impair driver’s ability to manage and manipulate a vehicle.
According to him, “The Motor Park Health and Safety Awareness Campaign is an initiative to raise awareness about the risk of consuming alcohol and to effect a change in attitude amongst motor park drivers.”
The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said the initiative seeks to reduce road crashes and ensure safety of passengers and other road users.
In a data to buttressed what the campaign has achieved since 2011, Fashola said over 2,500 commercial drivers have been screened for blood alcohol content, substance abuse, hypertension and diabetes.
“The campaign has been taken to Ojota, Iyana Ipaja and Oyingbo motor parks; and of the 884 drivers screened at Ojota Motor Park, 239 of them, representing 27 percent had hypertension, while 86, representing 10 percent, were found to be diabetic. Sixty drivers, representing seven percent, tested positive to substance abuse, and 287 representing 32 per cent had excessive blood alcohol level.
“At Oyingbo Motor Park, 988 drivers were screened. Of these, 363 were hypertensive, 156 had diabetes, 59 tested positive to cocaine or marijuana, and 494 tested positive to the Breathalyzer.
“At Iyana Ipaja Motor Park, of the 1,025 screened, 162 had hypertension, 71 had diabetes, 103 tested positive to cocaine or marijuana and 215 had excessive alcohol in their blood system.”
He urged drivers to stop gambling with people’s lives, saying: “Every time you drink Alomo or Paraga and get behind the steering wheel with drugs in your system, it is like putting a loaded gun to one’s head and wondering if it can kill or not. It is a huge risk to take and we should stop taking that risk.”
Culled from Guardian
No comments:
Post a Comment