Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has solicited the cooperation of motorists and other road users toward an accident-free Yuletide.

Its Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, made the appeal at a strategic session with his Zonal Commanders ahead of the 2017 special Christmas and New Year patrols of the Corps.

The exercise, scheduled to run from Dec. 20 to Jan. 17, is code-named Operation Zero Tolerance, and has as its theme: “Right to Life on the Highway, Not Negotiable’’.

It is aimed at significant reduction in road traffic accidents, in addition to prevention of accident-related deaths across the country during the period.

Oyeyemi assured the public of the Corps’ readiness to fulfill its obligations, but noted that little could be achieved without the support and cooperation of road users.

He said excessive overloading by commercial vehicle drivers, especially at night, had become a major challenge facing the Corps.

According to him, such drivers now embark on night journeys to avoid FRSC officials, who do not currently operate at night since they are not armed.

The FRSC boss urged the commanders to collaborate with security agencies in their zones to check the problem.

Oyeyemi also decried the attitude of government convoy drivers who, he said, constituted the greatest challenge to its officials on the highways.

He, however, said the Corps had sent a strong appeal through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the on need for them to exercise restraint. “During this Yuletide, we are going to ensure that there is free-flow of traffic on the highways by removing all obstructions. “We have designated 130 spots as critical locations nationwide and we have help areas on the highways. “We are going to work with the 15,000 special marshals to ensure that they are adequately manned during the period,’’ he said.

Oyeyemi stated that the Corps had identified 75 black spots across the nation which it reported to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

He said although the ministry was already working on the spots, personnel would still be deployed to man them for effective traffic management to avoid gridlock.

The corps marshal said 201 mobile courts would be deployed nationwide to prosecute offenders, stressing that the FRSC would press for maximum punishment of anyone that assaulted its personnel.

He advised road users to make use of the FRSC emergency line (122) in the event of accidents or obstruction for prompt response by rescue teams.