by crossriverwatch admin
The rush by drivers to beat the September deadline given by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has made both commercial and private drivers who need the new drivers license to undergo serious practical training from the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) office in Calabar.
When CrossRiverWatch visited the office at the Ministry of Works complex Ekorinim, no fewer than twenty drivers were seen on queue waiting for the training officer to call them for the exercise.
Each driver according to findings pay a Non-refundable sum of three thousand Naira to the coffers of the Cross River State Government for the training and confirmation of the applicants on driving skills.
Curiously, the VIO office has only one training and education officer who attended to all the applicants with serious dedication and commitment.
Asked why he is the only one saddle with the job and what were the challenges he was facing, the education officer, who CrossRiverWatch findings later revealed as Principal VIO Asira Cyprus Moses from Abi Local Government Area, refused to speak on the question preferring to concentrate on training and educating the applicants.
He was heard telling the trainees: “As a driver you must know these four warning and traffic signs, these are informative and prohibitive signs, as well as regulatory and mandatory signs.
“These signs are on our roads but most drivers don’t know because they were not properly trained about them. In law ignorance of road signs and commands is not an excuse.
“So if all the drivers abide by these road signs and rules, the rate of accidents will be drastically reduced on our roads”
He equally advised that all drivers must ensure that there is first aid box in their vehicles.
Some of the drivers who commented about the training exercise Asira gave them said though the training was rigorous, it them exposed us to the basic knowledge of road signs and traffic.
Bassey Orok, one of the drivers said: “If the VIO can make it compulsory every three months to educate us about these signs, it will help us greatly
“We are here to get the new drivers license before it becomes rushing time by September, If you come here in the morning we were many but most of them have gone due to impatience”.
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