Concerned about the loss of steam and relevance of the motor park rally style of reaching out to drivers and members of the public in its campaign for safer road environment, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has changed to the Town Hall meetings and press conferences as the alternative campaign strategies while not totally negating motor park rallies.
This was contained in a press statement imade available to news men in Abuja by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide
According to him, “over the years, the Federal Road Safety Corps had always relied on the motor park rally method of public enlightenment programs by which drivers and travellers are gathered at the parks where road safety education and enlightenment issues are shared to them through interactive sessions with the participants.
” But with increasing cases of lawlessness being displayed by drivers, mostly commercial and the fatalities recorded from road traffic crashes, the Corps has since discovered the impotence of such method where the main target Audience are not readily available at the time of the rally.
” Consequently, a new method has to be worked out in alignment with developments in communication systems. While shedding more light on the new method, the FRSC Education Officer disclosed that in his commitment to eradicating pervasive cases of road traffic crashes being recorded across the country, the Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed approved the use of town hall meetings, on transit campaign and press conferences as the most suitable means of communicating road safety messages to the target groups which every command has been directed to adopt henceforth.
” The Corps Marshal in his diligent commitment to finding solutions through appropriate means of reaching out to the public especially the drivers and Commuters in passing road safety messages saw the need to review our old engagement system with the public through a more effective communication system.
“That was what gave birth to the ideas of town hall meetings and press conferences, which the National Headquarters of the Corps and field commands would henceforth be committed to utilizing including the yearly ember months special enlightenment programs,” Ogungbemide added.
The Corps Public Education Officer further stressed that in giving effect to the new method, the usual flag off of the end year special road safety campaign for this year will be different.
He therefore called on members of the public to embrace the new campaign method, emphasizing the need for the public to take ownership of the campaign for safer road environment through massive participation of everyone especially the Commuters that are most vulnerable in case of crashes.
According to him, “while the Commanding Officers and public education officers in the field commands would constantly brief the public through engagement with various stakeholders in town hall fashion and press conferences for wider and effective broadcast, Mosques, Churches and other sociocultural settings would become the new platform for engaging with the participants.
“This aligns with the global focus on the menace of road traffic crashes which requires that every community, mosque, churches and schools actively participate in programs that could create public consciousness on road safety matters with a view to averting the huge social and economic loses which road traffic crashes cause to humanity,” Ogungbemide further stressed.
It would be recalled that as the lead agency in road traffic management and safety administration, the FRSC is charged with the responsibility of averting road carnage using all clinical and enforcement strategies to create safer road environments.
