In recent weeks, like in the past, there have been reports of fuel tankers falling on the highways.
While most of them spilt their content on the road and into drainages, causing more environmental havoc, some others explode, taking the lives of road users. Many persons who ignore previous warnings not to scoop fuel have also lost their lives. On each occasion, properties are destroyed, including roads.
Findings revealed that since the beginning of the month, 11 tankers have fallen and spilt their content in different states, with Lagos recording the highest number of cases.
On October 1, a fuel tanker lost control, fell and spilt its content on the road while the driver was manoeuvring the failed portions of the Oghara-Ologbo axis of the Sapele-Benin Road.
This led to an explosion that claimed the lives of five persons and razed eight buses, two tankers, five trailers, two cars and one motorcycle.
According to a statement from the spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, some youths in the area stormed the area to scoop the fuel into jerry cans.
In the process, the tanker exploded and “claimed the lives of five persons among the youth who had come to scoop the spilt fuel”, and destroyed many properties.
On October 11, a 45,000-litre fuel tanker skidded off the bridge opposite the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos State while the driver tried to apply brakes.
The truck fell on a car with three occupants, who were rescued alive, while a pregnant woman and a motorcycle rider were injured during the process.
On October 13, a container struggling to climb the bridge leading to Orile fell off and collided with an incoming fuel tanker which exploded.
On Wednesday last week, a fuel tanker fell and exploded on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, while a diesel tanker fell and spilt its content in the Leme area of Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
In July, 20 fuel persons trying to scoop fuel were burnt to death when a petrol tanker plying the Benin–Ore–Sagamu expressway fell, spilt its content and exploded.
The PUNCH quoted an eyewitness as saying the fire was ignited by a spark from a phone held by one of those scooping the fuel.
Victims of the disaster included three children and a pregnant woman who came to the scene with N100,000 to buy some of the scooped fuel.
Historically, railways were the primary means of transporting petrol before pipelines came into being. From there, tankers were used to deliver the petrol to filling stations.
Findings however revealed that the poor state of the roads, poorly maintained tankers, speeding and indiscriminate overtaking by the tanker drivers were the predominant causes of the accidents.
Commenting on the issue, the Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corp, Assistant Corp Marshal Bisi Kazeem, stated that the situation was avoidable but tanker owners did not usually comply with the set safety standards.
He added that the minimum safety standard for fleet operations in Nigeria had overtime been conveyed to the stakeholders, yet the situation persisted.
On measures to bring a lasting solution to the situation, Kazeem called for the installation of speed-limiting devices and anti-spill mechanisms on every tanker.
He added, “The point is that if owners of fleets comply with safety standards by installing speed limiting devices in their vehicles, the drivers will not have the liberty to exceed the legal speed limit and as such, speed-related crashes would have been brought to an end.
“In the same vein, if all tankers are fitted with anti-spill or safety valves, even in the event of crashes, the anti-spill mechanism will prevent the content from spilling.
“So, the key thing tanker owners in Nigeria need for safe operations is to have the speed limiting device installed in the vehicle, ensure that the safety valves which prevent spillage are fitted in the tankers, ensure adequate training and retraining of drivers, and have onboard cameras in the vehicles to monitor driver’s excesses. When this is done, falling and spilling of content by tankers would be prevented.”
The Technical Advisor, Safety Consultants and Solution Providers, William Nwaogu, stated that to prevent falls, spills and fire outbreaks, truck drivers must understand and abide by the technical requirements of driving a truck.
As part of the technical checks for tanker drivers, Nwaogu stated that the fuel, exhaust, and electrical systems must be checked before and after daily trips.
He added, “If the vehicle is on a high speed and there is a tyre burst, that can cause the driver to lose control and there might be a fire incident before you know it. Also, each vehicle has a loading capacity and we have to make sure the vehicle is carrying the load designed for it and this must be checked daily. Monitor your gauges in the dashboard while in operation for signs of overheating. When the dashboard is in order, it will help to monitor the fuel gauge and water level and as a result prevent overheating.”
Nwaogu advised drivers to avoid passing through deep holes and be more careful around slopes.
He further called for constant training of truck drivers on fire fighting and emergency response skills, in addition to equipping the trucks with fire retardant and personal protective equipment for fire fighting.
Nwaogu urged the Ministry of Transportation to carry out routine inspections of the tankers’ road worthiness and “routine audit, certification and recertification of fuel trucks by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority.”
Also, the Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, said tanker accidents could be caused by human, mechanical or road infrastructure factors.
He noted that road infrastructure played a minimal role in the crashes stating that drivers misused good roads and needed to be more careful on bad roads.
Farinloye noted that the amount of rainfall in the year, compared to the past two years, affected the asphalt used to pave the roads and as such contributed to the condition of the roads.
Farinloye stated that the agency in 2021 convened a meeting with the stakeholders “because we realised that most of them were under the supervision of the Department of Petroleum Resources (now NUPRC) and they load from their depot. Under the Save-to-Drive programme by the Federal Government, before a vehicle would be allowed to load at a depot, it needed to be certified by the FRSC and other stakeholders at the depot. All conditions were fulfilled and the FRSC were doing their duties rightfully.”
He said vehicles continued to load after the official closing time at the depot, and that drivers of some vehicles which complied with the safe-to-load standard, transferred their products, after leaving the loading bay, to rickety vehicles.
Farinloye noted that actions would be taken on vehicles that did not meet the safe-to-load standard.
“Like the tankers that were involved in the Ijora issue, Mack (a truck) is no longer being produced, so where did they get the spare parts for the vehicle and others that have been out of production but are still plying the road. The FRSC has promised to take action on this and other vehicles that are plying the road,” he added.
He implored drivers to exercise “extreme restraint” while driving during the rainy season and carefully step on the breaks.
He added that the faulty roads would be addressed by the Federal Government, noting, “A lot of issues are being considered. For example, the tanker drivers association are taking responsibility and cautioning their members to take caution. We are also retraining the trainers, strategising about the loading process and checkmating the retransfer of loaded products to rickety vehicles. All these are being taken care of by the lead agency, FRSC.”
Also, a safety consultant, Festus Okoloda, urged tanker and heavy-duty truck drivers to drive more carefully, refrain from overtaking on the highway and ensure there were no leakages in their trucks.
He added that the tanker drivers should ensure that their trucks were properly insulated and should not be filled to the brim when at the loading bay.
Okoloda stated, “Active fire extinguishers and fire extinguisher balls should be in their trucks in case of a fire outbreak. Whenever it is raining, tanker drivers should park their vehicles because when water covers the road, they won’t be able to see the potholes. Tanker drivers must ensure that their vehicles pass the mechanical tests and are roadworthy.”
