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"The existence of three tipper garages along Kubwa expressway has further worsened the situation. The FRSC confirmed that the truck drivers operate on the road recklessly as they cross the expressway on high speed without due consideration for other road users, resulting into preventable accidents."
The Kubwa road which begins as Zuba-Katampe expressway is a strategic entry point into the Abuja FCT and ushers in businesswomen and men in their droves on a daily basis. People who ply the road are however conversant with the inexplicable holdups and congestion as well as the ceaseless accidents that occur due to the plethora of problems. With the myriad of tributary roads joining the Kubwa expressway, the public have since adopted the popular Lagos syndrome of going to work at dawn and closing after dusk. Despite this innovation by road users to avoid traffic hitches, the road is still always congested. What follows is the total disregard for decent conduct by the road users irrespective of their social status. Everyone uses his ingenuity to initiate non-existing lanes that translate into a regime of abuses that subsequently attract the frustrated attempts by a handful of Federal Road Safety Corp [FRSC] officials to pave way for a free traffic flow. Available records emanating from the United Nations [UN] and World Health Organisation [WHO] revealed that Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is the 9th most killer disease [agent] in the world and if nothing serious is done, it may assume 3rd position. Sunday Trust’s visit to FRSC Kubwa command revealed that Black Spots form most part of the variables responsible for accidents along Kubwa road where deep pot holes dot the road. The accident infested- Kubwa road has been identified to have six of those spots, coupled with its densely vehicular population which saddles it with so much driving punctuation, the development affects the economic concept of man -hour and out -put. The existence of three tipper garages along Kubwa expressway has further worsened the situation. The FRSC confirmed that the truck drivers operate on the road recklessly as they cross the expressway on high speed without due consideration for other road users, resulting into preventable accidents. The News Engineering tiny junction where road users contest strongly for the right of way, and particularly the quarry tipper drivers do not help matters as the situation remains an eyesore. At night also, people living in Gwarimpa equally commit Route Traffic Violation (RTV) to enable them get home early. The Dutse Junction is another dreadful black spot as high volume of traffic is always contesting usage of the junction. One of the several new buses introduced by the FCTA plying the roads had last month rendered Kubwa road passable while hundreds of other users were held hostage for over four hours. It was amidst this melee that another trailer fell just some yards away. The FRSC rescue team that intervened only left the scene around 2am in the morning. The overzealousness of drivers who climb the expressway from the Kubwa second gate causes another round of confusion that has compounded the problems. After Kubwa is also another settlement called Kagini. This settlement is situated on a steep with no definite provision of entrance. Vehicles have therefore devised route violations that frequently expedite scores of people to their graves. At Dei Dei Junction lies the Mobile police barracks where nomads often cross with their herds of cattle. This narrow junction does not allow free flow of traffic even with the presence of traffic officials. Worse still this menace is heightened by the advent of the popular ‘el-Rufai buses.’ Their drivers who are mostly youngsters that graduated from Okada business meander within vehicles causing unpleasant driving along Kubwa road. The FRSC Kubwa unit commander, Mr. G.O. Omiko (JP) captured this trend succinctly when he said: "We observed that young men are predominantly being recruited by the Nationwide Unity Transport Service as drivers. And naturally youthful exuberance influences their sense of reasoning, "so there is no sense of responsibility attached to their conduct. That is why we are cautioning them and calling on transporters and passenger vehicles to ensure that they consider the issue of maturity in engaging drivers. The FRSC has had to invite the services of the FCT Mobile Court because of the wanton disregard for road regulations, to prosecute defaulters by issuing various fines and jail sentences. Onah Sunday, a driver with the nationwide unity transport service who overloaded his bus with additional forty people standing explained that his company expected him to turn in N40.000.00 per day, a claim the company’s operation manager, Adamu Umaru denied as untrue. The FRSC, Kubwa unit commander who paid a visit to the council chairman of Bwari area council said the commission is abreast of the challenges poised by the Kubwa expressway and thus appealed to the chairman for the opening up of adjorning roads to reduce traffic congestion. "Since the institution of this command in 1995, we did not the opportunity of being a member of the security council of the local council which means that we were excluded from decision making until now," the commander said. He thanked the chairman, Isah Dara, for co-opting them into the security council of the area council, and assured him of impacting positively and effectively on issues relating to traffic, safety and general security. He also advised the area council to come up with solutions to the menace of okada riders still evident in Kubwa. The Kubwa road situation has medical implications for the hospitals in the suburb as the Kubwa General Hospital receives scores of accident victims who are mostly Okada riders, bus drivers and passengers.
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