By Emmanuel Elebeke & Abu Bridget

ABUJA—THE Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, says plans are underway for reintroduction of the traffic retroflective jacket for all motorists across the country. Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the FRSC, Mr. Osita Chidoka, disclosed this at the flag off of a two day nationwide worldwide workshop on defensive driving techniques organised in Abuja.

He said the implementation of the traffic reflector was put on hold in the past following the myriads of petitions that opposed its earlier introduction but after the approval of same reflector by the World Road Safety Organization, the FRSC is now working on the possibility of its reintroduction and implementation in Nigeria.

Chidoka said, “When we introduced traffic retroflective jackets in Nigeria, people started to write petitions and we had to deal with those petitions much as we can. At the same time, we discovered that the World Society of Road Safety Organizations, which incidentally the Corp Marshal Osita Chidoka is the President, was interested in it. From then, we went back to the organization and as we speak, the association has approved the use of that retroflective jacket. At the same time, we have to come back home to see how we can go to the implementation table and see the possibility of getting it back into the main stream and properly adhered to.”

He, however, sought the opinion of the National Union of Road Transport Workers,  NURTW to brief them how the traffic reflector had helped them in reducing road accidents and car crashes, so as to  enable them plan better for the reintroduction, adding, “We want you to tell us how it has helped your members nationwide and get their opinions on what the retroflectors have done to them. This will go a further step to help us in the implementation. I want to assure you that we are going to be back on it and it is coming on stream and FRSC will let that done because we say what we do.”