No fewer than 2,000 commercial drivers in Abia State will undergo eye examination, as part of the "ember months" road safety campaign of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Mr Uche Ahunanya, the Executive Director of Foundation for Moral Rearmament, made this known last Thursday, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia, the Abia capital.

He stressed that the eye test was to ensure that the commercial drivers were free from any form of visual impairment.

"Our NGO is partnering with the FRSC and a team of medical doctors from Abia State University Teaching Hospital to make sure that the drivers were certified fit," he said.

Ahunanya said that eye safety was an important aspect of road safety which had long been neglected; stressing that visual impairment was one of the major causes of road accidents in the country.

He said that 10 eye specialists had been invited to give lectures and conduct eye tests on the commercial drivers and other members of the public.

He said that the NGO had subsidised the cost of the exercise to the tune of N1,500 per person, adding that drugs and spectacles would also be distributed during the event.

Ahunanya, however, expressed disappointment at the turnout during the campaign and called on the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to mobilise its members for the exercise.

Mr Sunny Nwakodo, the NURTW Chairman in Abia, told NAN that eye impairment was one of the major health problems of the union's members.

He said that it was imperative for drivers to know the state of their eyes before embarking on journeys, stressing that eye problems had been one of the causes of road accidents.

" We are going to have a meeting with our branch officials and unit heads so that they will mobilise members to come out for the eye examination," he said.

The FRSC Sector Commander in Abia, Mr Gilbert Igbokwe, at the beginning of the safety campaign, urged road users to observe road traffic rules.

He said that apart from the aberrant behaviour of several road users during the closing months of the year, there was nothing evil about the "ember months"