Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Boboye Oyeyemi has urged the independent petroleum marketers to upgrade their safety standards in line with global best practice in conveying petroleum products.
He said the safety standard must not be compromised on the altar of profit-making. Oyeyemi, who spoke in a statement at a presentation of the Transport Service Providers’ Training Workshop at Oando Nigeria Plc in Apapa, Lagos, said the country had reached a stage where stakeholders must take road safety serious by observing the safety standards set to guarantee safety of life and property.
He expressed dissatisfaction that most of the crashes involving tankers/trailers were avoidable, as the vehicles were old and mechanically-dysfunctional, with the drivers poorly-trained.
Oyeyemi enjoined stakeholders to demonstrate commitment to road safety by adopting scientific safety measures in their operations.
He said: “It is unprecedented in the history of this country that the number of tanker/trailer crashes as well as the casualties recorded this year ever happened.
“In June, we recorded 16 crashes involving tankers/trailers, while that of Onitsha claimed 49 lives.
“The other crashes, which occurred in Lagos and other parts of the country not only claimed lives, but also destroyed houses and vehicles in the inferno that threw the nation into mourning.”
Giving an overview of the crash situation globally, Oyeyemi said 1.3 million people die annually from road crashes and 50 million suffer injuries, with Nigeria accounting for 10, 380 of the crashes last year.
“Five thousand five hundred and ninety-six people died last year in the country from road crashes. Thirty thousand and eighty nine suffered injuries and 16, 779 vehicles were involved,” he added.
Speaking on the policy measures put in place by the FRSC to avoid crashes involving haulage vehicles, Oyeyemi said the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS), which the commission launched in 2007, was aimed at creating safe environment for fleet operators.
According to him, the scheme required the employment of a safety manager by every operator with over five vehicles in his fleet to ensure observance of safety rules and regulations by the drivers of the company.
The workshop was organised by Oando Nigeria PLC, with participants from fleet managers of the major petroleum marketers.