By Ike Uchechukwu,  CALABAR

The National Association of Seadogs in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps( FRSC ) have sensitized drivers against road crashes in the state.

The sensitization  which took place at the PMT terminal in Calabar was held to raise awareness on steps to prevent road crashes.

Ubio Oviong, the president of the Frigate Deck  said they are a pressure group that identifies challenges in the society and makes effort to address it through relevant stakeholders.

He said they are interested in the safety of drivers, the passengers they carry and need to avoid road crashes.

He emphasized that the essence of the sensitization is to ensure that commercial drivers are sensitized so they can drive and arrive safely because they care for the drivers.

On his part, Ikpi Esuku, Public Relations officer of the State Command, FRSC said that drivers were responsible for 90% of road crashes.

Speaking during his lecture, the PRO added that other factors that cause road crashes  include over confidence, overloading and mechanical factors.

“Human factor has to do with the driver and this is responsible for 90% of road crashes.

“A driver is expected to have a good attitude, here drivers not using seat belts, engage in distractive driving like loud conversations also predispose them to accidents.

“Also, some drivers are overconfident  because they have been driving for many years, they ignore basic safety guidelines and this also causes accidents.

“Other factors like overloading and mechanical factors also cause accidents and after a vehicle has covered 80,000 km, the tyre is supposed to be changed” he said.

He advised commercial drivers to always rest for fifteen minutes after covering a distance of four hours in order to avoid drivers fatigue.

He said the road is a shared facility and drivers should be considerate to every other person using the road.

Frigate Deck covers Calabar South, Akpabuyo and Bakassi LGAs.