Reckless driving by tanker and truck drivers in Nigeria has now gone beyond public outcry to officially become a national concern, as the Nigerian Senate on 25th February 2020 gave a new order to the Police, VIO and FRSC to arrest any erring driver.
Nigerian Senate orders Police, FRSC and VIO to begin arrest of reckless tanker and truck drivers from now
This new order was given by the Nigerian Senate in bid to reduce the currently alarming rate of catastrophic road accidents mainly caused by articulated “heavy-duty” vehicles like tankers and trucks all over Nigeria. The Senate also noted that some of these big tankers and trucks ply major roads without any compliance to even the minimum safety requirements prescribed by the traffic agencies.
This new Senate’s directive is coming sequel to the initial motion moved by Senator Teslim Folarin, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content. The chairman claims that in the year 2017 alone, there were 779 traffic accidents recorded to be involving tankers and trailers with 2,622 injuries and 737 fatalities noted. The Senator mentioned that according to statistics, this 2017 record means that at least 2 Nigerian residents are killed daily on average while 7 will suffer injuries from just tanker/trailer accidents alone.
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Senator Folarin further explained that the accidents caused by these big trucks and tankers account for a huge 28% of all road accidents in Nigeria. He truly expressed displeasure concerning how proper safety regulations and guidelines are being given by the FRSC yet, most drivers of these articulated vehicles do not obey them.
Based on these concerns and reports, the Nigerian Senate has now unanimously directed a committee to investigate the implementation and adoption of all recommendations provided at the 2018 Stakeholder’s Summit for Haulage Operators among all other relevant and important stakeholders. The Senate also urged the Nigerian Federal Government to try to establish proper trailer parks as well as weighbridges for them along Nigerian highways.
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