Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil sector have confirmed their readiness to collaborate with the federal government to drastically reduce the alarming rate of road accidents by tanker drivers.
Stakeholders lament that there have been series of recurring accidents after the one that occurred on the Otedola Bridge at the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway where a tanker lorry fully loaded with petroleum product fell, leaked and exploded on 27 June 2018.
Speaking during a media parley hosted by OVH Energy session in Lagos, Clement Isong, Chief Executive Officer, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) said it’s high time operators started prioritising safety as an industry agenda to curb the number of accidents while transporting petroleum products.
Isong explained that internally, MOMAN have significantly ensured safety when truck drivers transport petroleum products by implementing a number of measures. ”We cannot fold our arms and watch these accidents happen even though in most cases not affected by them”, he said.
He said MOMAN as a business and industry is ready to have a deep conversation with government authorities on how to salvage the situation having successfully solved the problem internally.
We want to sell our ideas to them and let them know how MOMAN have solved the problem of truck accidents, he said.
Giving insights on how MOMAN have solved the problem of tanker accidents, Isong said partnership with Federal Road Safety Corp of Nigeria (FRSN); training of drivers; introduction of modern trucks armed with sophisticated technology; as well as different tests and analyses have been the pillars of it’s success in controlling accidents.
Isong said MOMAN is working with FRSN officers to develop safety loads to ensure that trucks are rigorously inspected and safe to load before hitting the road.
Also, we have trained at least 100 Federal Road Safety Corp officers on how to do safety load. MOMAN is encouraging working them to ensure that
”All trucks undergoe a checklist to make sure that trucks are safe to load. If they are not safe to load then they are not allowed to access MOMAN facility. At all our depots we have FRSN officers who ensure that all trucks pass our checks.”
Part of the safety measures adopted MOMAN is truck renewals. With the majority of trucks on road been too old to operate, Isong said some operators in the industry have invested heavily to bring more modern trucks equipped with sophisticated technology.
”Many of the trucks are too old and should not be on the road”, he said.
He explained that the modern trucks would have onboard computer, satellite tracking, anti-roll over protection, speed limiters, anti-lock braking system, cockpit camera, anti-speed protection and many more.
More so, the behavioural patterns of drivers while driving the trucks on the roads is another major that influences the safety of trucks while transporting petroleum products.
Using said MOMAN are also making sure that all drivers undergo an obligatory training on transporting hydrocarbons in road tankers, as well as yearly retraining exercise which ensures that drivers do not deviate from the needful.
”It is important to understand that these drivers are not MOMAN staff. They are drivers of outsourced transporters. However, we are ensuring that we have strong partnerships with all the different arms of road transporters in the country to ensure that these trainings are ongoing.
Further, he revealed that breathalyzer test remains another strategy which has helped MOMAN to leapfrog tanker accidents. Breathalyzer test entails that the breath of drivers are tested to ascertain if they are drunk before driving the truck.
He added that MOMAN and the truck drivers are usually involved in route risk assessment before taking off. ”If a driver is going to Abuja for instance, we agree on the route to follow, assess the risk and what we expect from them during the journey”
”We have onboard computers and satellite tracking to track the movement of the trucks. If a driver stops or go contrary to our expectations, we call the driver to and ask questions,” he added.