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Nigeria: New Policy On Fuel Tankers Underway
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
28 March 2008
Posted to the web 28 March 2008
Lagos
Fuel tankers may soon be compelled to move within certain hours of the day in the country.
This was part of the resolutions at a stakeholders' forum on fuel tanker standards organised by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) following high incidence of road crashes involving fuel haulage trucks.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Office, tanker building firms and major oil marketers in the country were part of the forum.
The forum also agreed to subject tankers to proper examination in line with international standards to ensure compliance with safety regulations before allowing them to ply Nigerian roads.
Mr. Osita Chidoka, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the FRSC, said a total of 2,125 road crashes involving fuel tankers and trailers were recorded out of a total of 26, 435 road accidents recorded nationwide in 2007.
Chidoka noted that most of the incidents were lone accidents involving single trucks falling and crashing into various objects and spilling their contents.
"Trend studies confirm the prevalence of such accidents in major arterial states linking the country's major ports in Lagos," he added.
He identified some states in the North-Central zone as accident-prone.
"The combined states of Ogun and Lagos top the chart with a total of 369 recorded cases followed by combined figures for Osun, Osogbo and Ondo States with a total of 281," he said.
Chidoka stated that Abuja and Niger States had a total 269, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo States 281, while Anambra, Delta and Edo States came next with 210.
The least figure of 66, he said, was recorded for Gombe, Yobe and Taraba States.
The FRSC chief said that the figures had no geographical significance but reflected the volume of trailers and tankers daily plying the roads.
Dr. John Akanya, the Director-General, SON identified non-compliance with the Code of Standards for trucks and trailers vehicles as the major cause of road accidents.
"The code spells out adequate requirements for the safety of the vehicles and drivers," he said.
Akanya said that compliance would enhance the efficiency and safety of Nigerians.
The SON chief executive listed the major causes of road accidents as poor road design, axle-load violation, excessive speed, poor vehicle maintenance and indiscriminate parking at notable locations.
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The forum agreed to come out with standardised fuel tankers in the country with necessary modern design and standard safety gadgets, while tanker building firms would undergo SON test to establish their efficiency.
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