By Cliffsimeon Akalonu
The Association of Professionals & Corporate Drivers of Nigeria (APCDN) in collaboration with Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI), recently trained private school bus drivers/bus attendants on defensive and safe driving techniques/child’s first aid and emergency situations handling course, at the just concluded one day seminar, held in Lagos.
The seminar which was supported by the Lagos State Chapter of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), was tagged “educating the school bus drivers, assistant and data basing, panacea for school child safety in a smart city”.
APCDN’s National Chairman Comrade Agbor Osim Nzie; said the training was to bridge the gap of poor and inadequate capacity of drivers of school buses and their bus assistants whose employers have always been hesitant to train.
He said drivers needed to be properly trained because they are the engine room of every organization’s transport and logistics department.
“The need for them to be trained and be certified periodically in order to be at par with the modern day driving trend cannot be over emphasised, adding that drivers licence alone is no longer sufficient as qualification for someone who would be engaged in rendering professional driving services especially by schools. That is why we (APCDN), had decided to train them.
He said his motivation to train and retrain drivers stem from the fact that he is a professional driver and he has seen the lapses in the current situation where many drivers have no longer of the profession.
”I was motivated to organising the seminar because I am a professional driver. In Nigeria, people look at drivers as unreliable and uncoordinated, and this is affecting those of us who are professional drivers. This poor image is also responsible for drivers not being considered for trainings, not properly regulated thereby creating room for hoodlums to infiltrate the profession and perpetuate crimes.”
There is no job security for drivers, once a driver is sacked it ends there; reason is that there is no proper negotiations arrangements between employers and drivers, no insurance/pension and other welfare packages, that is why we all came together to put standards, build trust and create an enabling environment, whereby; the employers, employees and government can be of mutual understanding and benefit.
The Chairman urged the participants to put into practice what they learnt as it will help reduce crashes, reduce cost in the management of time and child security thereby guaranteeing child safety in a smart city.
Mr. Ola Osifowokan, a LASDRI facilitator, told school Bus drivers and their assistants that when there is an emergency situation/break failure, no one should panic or tell anybody in the vehicle what is going on.
He said as a defensive driver, when there is brake failure, the fastest measures to put in place is to continue pumping of the brake or change gears from 5 – 1 or gradually apply your hand brake 2 by 2 format until the vehicle stops.
He called on school proprietors to as a matter of fact, commit more interest in attractive welfare packages for drivers as well as give them educational incentives in the interest of their children since the bus drivers are the first and last security of a school child, therefore, there is every need to build trust amongst them.
LASDRI’s Acting General Manager, Mrs. Afusat Tiamiyu, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Training Department, Mrs. Adeola Ajayi, reminded the participants about their responsibilities as drivers and the need to always consider other road users while driving.
She noted that, the lives of commuters are important likewise their own lives, hence they should ensure compliance with all safety regulations, reiterating that Safety and Security should be their watchword at all times as it is in fulfillment of one of the cardinal programmes of the present administration as captured in T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of Lagos State.
The participants were taken through various courses such as: Defense Driving, Vehicle care, Vehicle labeling, Pavement Marking, Traffic offences as well as Vehicle Maintenance procedure, eye-tests, Road Courtesy, Road Signs, Responsibilities of Drivers, Emergency Driving and First Aid among others.
The second phase of the seminar will be coming up on Saturday, 14th September 2019. Certificates issued after the seminar includes: Lagos State Drivers Certification card for drivers, Certificate of Professional Competence for drivers/Bus Assistant and Certificate of Participation for participating Schools.