The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says N9.8 billion has been recorded as an economic loss in 196 traffic crashes so far across the country in 2018.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, disclosed this at the 2018 National Safety Training Programme for Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) in Lagos on Monday.
He said that the loss involved the cost of other vehicles, lives and damage to the environment and roads.
Oyeyemi, however, said that there was a slight reduction in the number of crashes recorded during the period, compared to previous years.
According to him, the agency recorded 282 accidents involving tanker drivers in 2016 and 240 in 2017.
He said, “We have an agreement with NUPENG PTD to organise periodic
training programme for their drivers.
“This is very critical even though we have seen a reduction in the traffic crashes involving tanker drivers.
“We have recorded 196 this year and the economic value is about N9.8 billion loss, involving cost of other vehicles, lives, damage to the environment and to the roads.
“NUPENG PTD is putting its best to set up capacity workshop for the tanker drivers. Once they finished in Lagos, the other programme will take place in Kaduna and Warri and this is very impressive.
“We are going to give our maximum support to NUPENG towards ensuring
that the 4,000 tanker drivers are fully trained.”
The FRSC boss also urged the union to carry out more visual tests on drivers, saying that it had been discovered that 30 per cent of commercial vehicle drivers had visual acuity challenges.
Earlier, Salmon Oniditi, the National Chairman of PTD, had said that 61 members had been expelled due to misconducts, including fraudulent activities.
According to him, those sanctioned will not be employed any longer in the industry because they pose danger to the progress of the union.
“The development is imperative as the union will not want to be tagged as one involved in economic sabotage.
“The offences vary from stealing of petroleum products, pipeline vandalism, product adulteration, petroleum products’ theft and illegal bunkering,’’ Oniditi said.
He added that others vices included hijack of truck, manhole manipulation, constant shortage, sales of petroleum product and replacing with bad ones.
He noted that the training which started three years ago had passed the test of time and equally led to a reduction in accidents.
