“Using Google Map On Mobile While Driving Is A Serious Offence” — FRSC Warns Nigerians

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has warned Nigerians that driving with the aid of Google map using mobile phones is a serious traffic offence.

The warning was issued by the FCT Sector Commander, Ayuba Gora, during the inauguration of the 2019 Ember Months Campaign by Lugbe Unit Command of the FRSC in Abuja on Wednesday, November 27, 2019.

According to him, the law forbids motorists from using mobile phones in any form while driving, as it can lead to an accident.

However, in a statement signed by Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Commander Public Education Officer, on Thursday, FRSC said that Gora was “quoted out of context on the use of google map app while driving.”

Kazeem said driving with the aid of Google map is not an offence, but deploying the app while driving is dangerous.

He said though driving with the aid of Google map is not prohibited, deploying the app while a vehicle is in motion could cause accidents.

Read the full statement below:

“The Corps wishes to state that the Sector Commander must have been misquoted and his statement outrightly misrepresented because the Federal Road Safety Corps as a technology-driven organisation is not and has never stood against the use of google map by motorists.

“To state the obvious, we have always enlightened the public on the position of the law on use of phone while driving which the Sector Commander tried to emphasize during the flag off. 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 map 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 use of phone 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 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 map on their phone 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.”