Drivers of articulated vehicles, petroleum tankers worst traffic offenders—FRSC
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has revealed major culprits of road accidents in Nigeria. Beyond bad roads, the latest Ogun State command report of the Commission linked the major causes of road crashes to reckless driving and disregard for traffic rules by drivers of articulated vehicles and petroleum tankers.
The report showed that in 18 months, 228 persons had been killed, while 893 sustained serious injuries as a result of accidents caused by petroleum tanker drivers across Ogun state.
FRSC revealed further that out of the 904 road crashes recorded in Ogun between January 2018 and June 2019, 390 were caused by the tankers, representing 43 percent.
Explaining more on Wednesday at a one-day safety awareness for petroleum tanker drivers in the state, the Ogun FRSC commander, Clement Oladele, said out of 461 deaths recorded during the study, 228 deaths were caused by petroleum tankers, just as he said that out 2,847 injured persons in road accidents in the same period, 893 were caused by the trucks.
On how to tame the accidents and losses, FRSC called for strict adherence to traffic rules and regulations, particularly on the highways.
Oladele also linked lack of lane indiscipline, over speeding, drivers’ refusal to observe mandatory rest period, overloading and poor visibility of articulated vehicles at night as some of the causes of petroleum tanker crashes.
Other security agencies present at the awareness session called for stiffer penalties for drivers who erred so as to serve as deterrent to others.
