As the Beer Sectoral Group (BSG) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) launched its ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ campaign, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has announced plan to establish National Data Bank to deal with road tax evasion and other infractions.

According to its Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, it is a criminal offence to ply the road without number plates, saying whoever does so is avoiding paying road tax to the government.

Oyeyemi, who disclosed this Friday in Lagos during the launch and presentation of breathalyzers to FRSC by the BSG,  said as from tomorrow, October  2, FRSC is going to be blocking the driver’s licence of erring and recalcitrant drivers, including those caught on the highway with alcohol concentration in their system that exceeds the legal  limit.

His words : “It is criminal for you to be driving a vehicle, motorcycle or tricycle without a number plate. And it is tax evasion. Number plates, driver’s licence, all these things are under the Road Tax. If you don’t have number plate, that means you avoided paying tax. And everybody is complaining about the road conditions, everybody is complaining about traffic light, the road markings and so on. If you don’t pay your tax, there is no way government can do all those things..”

Earlier, the BSG Chairman, Jordi Borut Bel, who is also the Managing Director of Nigeria Breweries,  In his welcome address, stated that “the objective of the campaign is to increase awareness about the dangers of drink driving, while enhancing the capacity of the FRSC to enforce existing laws and improving road safety within the country. We see this as an opportunity to expand our cooperation with the FRSC in reducing the prevalence of drink driving in Nigeria”.

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He gave assurance that “the ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ campaign has come to stay as the Group would continue to deploy available resources to ensuring increase in support for the FRSC in line with the signed Memorandum of Understanding  to break existing culture of drink driving within the country”.

Appreciating the group for the logistic support through the provision of breathalyzers and other facilities to aid FRSC operations, Oyeyemi said:

“All fleet operators will be compelled to have a unit of breathalyzer  for  testing their drivers before they embark on a journey. If all fleet operators can do this and the drivers know, the greater they will take care. The first time you tested positive, you are grounded; the second and third time, maybe you lose your job.”

On drivers who flee after causing accident, he warned that “once a drive is involved in a crash and he disappears, he must be reported to us so that we block his driver’s licence for renewal.”

He added:  “So when his licence is blocked, he can not renew it, which means he cannot get any job. So we just took that decision last week. I am appealing to the fleet operators that once a driver is involved (in an accident), and he can not be seen, let’s  have the details.”