FRSC prosecutes 150 mobile phone offenders in A’Ibom

The Federal Road Safety Corps, Akwa Ibom State
Command, has prosecuted 150 drivers who were
found to be using their mobile phones while driving in
the last three months.
The Sector Commander, Mr. Ocheja Ameh, said this on
Sunday in Uyo while addressing journalists to mark
African Road Safety Day and World Day of
Remembrance of Road Crash Victim.
He explained that what the corps did was to send the
offenders to court. He added that the command had
been having favourable verdicts from the courts.
Ameh said out of the number, 100 were made to pay
fines; 20 were sentenced to jail ranging from one to
three months, while 30 were freed.
The commander stated that the FRSC no longer issued
tickets for payment to offenders, but, instead,
prosecutes them.
He said that the N8,000 charged for the offence did
not make any difference to some of the offenders who
commit the same offence shortly after payment.
“We don’t issue tickets for payment to those that are
caught driving while using their mobile phones.
“We prosecute them straight away because we have
gone beyond the issue of payment. If you ask them to
pay even N8,000, it does not make any difference to
them as they will still go ahead to commit the same
offence.
“So, what we do now is to prosecute them; we send
them to the court straight away. Over time we have
had favourable adjudications from the courts in favour
of the FRSC.”
He said the command would partner with relevant
agencies to install speed limit devices in Uyo
metropolis to check overspeeding by motorists.
He advised road users to obey road traffic regulations
in the “ember” months to reduce crashes on the road.
Source; punch

NEWS 20:10