The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has clarified the
ongoing trend that FCT Sector Commander, Mr Ayuba Gora said driving
with the aid of Google map using mobile phones is a serious traffic
offence.
The commission in a statement said Commander Wobin Ayuba Gora
was quoted out of context on the use of google map app while
driving and his statement outrightly misrepresented because the
Federal Road Safety Corps as a technology-driven organisation is
not and has never stood against the use of google map by
motorists.
The statement reads in parts: “The attention of the Federal Road
Safety Corps has been drawn to an online publication where the
Sector Commander, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Corps Commander
Wobin Ayuba Gora was quoted out of context on the use of google map
app while driving, during the 2019 ‘Ember Months’ flag-off held in
Lugbe, FCT on Wednesday.
“According to the writer, the FCT Sector Commander while
delivering his ember months address stated that driving with the
aid of Google map using a mobile phone is a serious traffic
offence.
“The Corps wishes to state that the Sector Commander must have
been misquoted and his statement outrightly misrepresented because
the Federal Road Safety Corps as a technology-driven organisation
is not and has never stood against the use of google map by
motorists.
“To state the obvious, we have always enlightened the public on
the position of the law on the use of phone while driving which the
Sector Commander tried to emphasize during the flag off.
“The statement he made during the flag off buttresses the
position of the Corps, which is that any driver who intends to
deploy the use of Google map while driving must have it set on the
phone before embarking on the journey, not while the vehicle is
already in motion as this could be dangerous to the driver and
other road users, and can lead to road traffic crash.
“We say this because, available records have shown that use of a
phone for whatever purpose; be it text, voice calls, chats,
browsing, setting google map to find location etc while driving
could be distractive and can easily lead to loss of concentration.
This has led to many road traffic crashes with attendant loss of
lives and properties.
“On the strength of this, the Federal Road Safety Corps wishes
to reiterate its position on the use of phone while driving as a
dangerous and hazardous road traffic behaviour which has led to
unwanted and avoidable road crashes.
“We, therefore, call on all motorists who intend to deploy the
use of google map on their phone especially during the festive
season when traffic density is high, to activate such before
setting the vehicle in motion so as to ensure 100 per cent
concentration on the wheels”
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