COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FRSC ARRESTS 144 FOR OVERLOADING OF PASSENGERS, ORDERS ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORT OPERATORS TO USE PASSENGERS MANIFEST, ACTIVATE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

In Pursuant to the need to mitigate the spread of corona virus amongst passengers, the Federal Road Safety Corps has arrested a total of 144 offenders for overloading of vehicles in persons and ordered all categories of transporters to ensure full compliance with the provisions of Regulation 108 (1) of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 on compulsory passenger manifest; while directing all public transport operators to imbibe necessary precautionary measures in their parks and terminals as failure to adhere strictly to this order will attract the necessary sanctions.

In a statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, he said that the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi who gave the order stated that the Corps observed that despite the palpable spread of the virus, public transport operators continued to board passengers to full capacity without consideration to social distancing, passenger manifest and seat spacing of passengers. He said this unhealthy behaviour if not put to check on time, has the potentials to fuel the spread of the virus.

The corps marshal noted that all passengers travelling; not only during the epidemic regime but at all times, have the statutory obligation to write down their full information in the passenger manifest before commencement of the trip as putting down passenger details is a mandatory and acceptable practice all over the world and the document must contain basic information including contacts of next of kin of all the passengers travelling in the vehicle for ease of identification and contact in the case of eventuality.

On overloading, the Corps Public Education Officer stated that the figure of the arrests was drawn from 16 states with the highest number of arrests recorded in the Federal Capital Territory where a total of 52 overloaded vehicles were impounded while Lagos State followed suite with a total of 17 arrests.

To this end, Kazeem said that the Corps Marshal, has ordered all pubic transporters to ensure full compliance with the following key precautionary measures amidst the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic:

All public transport operators to sanitise their parks/terminals regularly (at least before and after each trip) with emphasis on objects and areas that people frequently come in contact with such as rails, grab handles and seats;

Provide hand washing points with running water, hand wash equipments, detergent and alcohol based sanitiser;

Maintain reasonable social distancing on seating arrangements for waiting passengers in their parks and terminals;

Provide temperature readers and test all passengers before boarding and make available alcohol based sanitisers in their vehicles for the use of all occupants including drivers and conductors.

Passengers must sanitise themselves before boarding and all drivers and conductors to wear hand gloves and nose masks while on transit.

Oyeyemi also directed that no passenger should be allowed to stand in all mass transit buses and all public transport operators must strictly observe adequate spacing of passengers as crowding or overloading of vehicles will not be tolerated.

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