…as accidents soar on highways
For many residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, at the moment, driving schools are social altars on which they pay their offerings. This is sequel to the recent ban on commercial vehicles popularly called Araba by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA; forcing residents to find ways of moving within the city with their own cars.
As the newly-introduced high-capacity buses are remotely far from meeting transportation needs, thousands of the city's residents now seek solutions to accompanying challenges engendered by the ban.
Hence, there is the need for residents who have just acquired new cars, including those who are planning to get theirs, to approach driving schools for training. More cars are coming into the city daily as evident in long queues of vehicles on the roads. And the driving school business has since surged in number.
Residents throng driving training sites to acquire skills and other requisites needed for driving. Inside FCT investigations showed that the number of employees hired by proprietors of driving schools has increased, while more cars for training have been acquired since the ban took effect. But more accidents are occurring as a result of inexperience of new drivers on the city's highways.
According to Inside FCT's observations, at least one out of every 15 vehicles in the city can be seen carrying 'L' on the number plate; the learner's tag. Investigations by our reporter also showed that one out of every five accidents occurring on Airport Road involves a learner's car.
A driving instructor at Master's Driving School, Abuja, Mr. Simon Anhungwa, told our reporter that: "The business of driving school has been improving all this while. We are not doing the business to make money only, we are also trying to ensure that standardisation of driving in Abuja and Nigeria at large is sustained.
This year, the city and the country as a whole have recorded series of road accidents. When those of us who run driving schools observed this, we rose to ensure that everyone who holds the steering wheel on our roads is competent by coming to driving school and understanding how to drive". How much can somebody pay to start driving school in Abuja, Inside FCT asked?
Anhungwa provided the answer, stating that trainings were programmed to meet learner's interest. "We have different programmes which include one week, two weeks, three weeks and one month.
One week programme is for somebody who has been driving but not perfectly; such a person pays N8,000. Then the two weeks programme costs N15,000 and is for somebody who has an idea about driving but has not been driving perfectly. We advice such person to come and do the two weeks driving programme so that he or she can drive well. Three weeks driving programme is N20,000; while the month-long programme goes for N25,000".
According to him, the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Directorate for Road Traffic Services, DRTS, popularly called Vehicle Inspection Officials, VIOs, issue Driver's Licence which he said was also paid for by the trainees after their trainings. Adejo Joseph is one of the proprietors of Joy Driving School in the city.
He told our reporter in an interview that operators of the driving schools are regularly being trained by FRSC officials to ensure quality standards.
"Before you can teach people how to drive, you must go through FRSC training and be licensed to train. You can't just bring your car on the street and begin to train others". He noted that the driving schools issue Learner's Permit to trainees which they use for six months before they obtain the National Driver's Licence.
A resident of the city and a driving trainee, Ibiyemi Damola, told Inside FCT that she had just acquired her car. "It is good to acquire necessary training before driving. Some people do not know how to drive; they just look for somebody to teach them, maybe at home. By the time they do that for about two months, they buy a learner's tag and attached it on their cars.
That is not a good way to engage in driving in a city like Abuja. The best thing is to go through the right process to avoid road disasters", she advised.
