The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has made a U-turn on the use of Google Maps while driving.
Meanwhile, the FCT Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ayuba Gora was quoted saying that driving with the aid of Google Maps using mobile phones is a serious traffic offence.
Gora said this at the inauguration of the 2019 Ember Months Campaign by Lugbe Unit Command of the FRSC in Abuja on Wednesday.
However, FRSC Spokesman Bisi Kazeem making reference to Gora’s comments said the Sector Commander was quoted out of context and his statement outrightly misrepresented.
Kazeem said the FRSC as a technology-driven organisation is not and has never stood against the use of Google Maps by motorists.
The statement read: “To state the obvious, we have always enlightened the public on the position of the law on the use of phone while driving.
“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 Maps 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 the use of phones 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 Maps on their phones, 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.
“Road safety is a state of mind, road traffic crash is the absence of mind.