By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
To ensure a lasting solution to incessant truck accidents, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), is fostering collaboration among regulators, operators, and enforcement agencies to mitigate the increasing number of truck-related accidents on the roads.
The Executive Secretary of MEMAN, Clement Isong, disclosed this to journalists after a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on how to mitigate accidents involving trucks on Nigerian roads.
He explained that this initiative is sequel to an emergency stakeholders’ meeting held to address the alarming rise in petroleum truck accidents and explosions in the country.
Mr. Isong listed participants in the meeting to include the Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole; President, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Lawal Yusuf; and Chairman, MEMAN’s Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Quality (HSSEQ) Committee, Gabriel Orukpe, representing the operators.
Others were the Lagos Sector Commander, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Patrick Davo; and the South-West Regional Coordinator, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ibrahim Dimowo, for the regulators.
Mr. Isong said that the primary objective was to foster collaboration among regulators, operators, and enforcement agencies to mitigate the increasing number of truck accidents witnessed in 2024.
He said: “This meeting is the first in a series of urgent actions aimed at addressing the recent spike in truck accidents and explosions.
“The analysis of several petroleum tanker-related crashes over the past four months revealed several root causes,” such as the deplorable road infrastructure, inexperienced drivers in oversized trucks, and a lack of truck maintenance, among others.
“Other issues include drivers’ mental alertness and attitudinal behavior. Also, some trucks were fully loaded up to 66,000 litres, far exceeding the safe limits, and inadequate maintenance practices led to mechanical (brake) failures.” Isong added.
Self-regulatory measures
He informed that stakeholders thereafter proposed several measures for the operators to implement, driven by the industry’s commitment to self-regulation, such as increased stakeholder collaboration and engagement, especially with key agencies like the NMDPRA, NARTO, PTD, and FRSC.
He added that driver training, truck maintenance, and fleet renewal were also considered to be paramount.
The meeting also agreed to ensure:
- Mandatory annual training for all drivers at FRSC-approved centers driven by the industry.
- Marketers should turn down underaged drivers, untrained drivers, and trucks that have not undergone inspection or failed the Safe-to-Load integrity checks at loading bays.
- Marketers must insist on biannual comprehensive integrity evaluations for all trucks transporting petroleum products at approved centers.
- Marketers should phase old trucks and replace them with new ones featuring modern safety measures such as ABS, anti-rollover, anti-spill, anti-skid, speed limiters, onboard computers, and cameras.
- Trucks over 15 years old should be repurposed for non-hazardous cargo.
The stakeholders also emphasized technology integration in daily operations, with marketers ensuring that their trucks are fitted with onboard computers and tracking devices.
Marketers are to ensure the use of intelligence cameras and data from route surveys to enhance safety.
Marketers and transporters should establish centres to monitor truck movements, capable of immobilizing trucks in emergencies.
“The control centres should be open 24/7 and are meant to enforce the journey management procedures, including flagging night driving, harsh braking, rest time, unauthorised parking, and speeding,” he said.
On road infrastructure, the stakeholders agreed to share the list of critical roads that require urgent repairs and redesign with the relevant authorities.
On public awareness campaigns, stakeholders agreed to conduct regular sensitisation programmes for drivers on safe driving practices, adding: “The public is strongly advised to avoid scooping fuel when there is a truck accident.”
On the Bottom Loading Systems, marketers were urged to embrace this measure to reduce vapour emissions and enhance safety.
On earthing, stakeholders agreed that stations and drivers should ensure earthing and continuity in earthing cables/hoses during discharge at filling stations and must avoid product discharge during thunderstorms.
Stakeholders also considered driver welfare as fundamental in ensuring safety, saying: “Transporters need to improve drivers’ welfare to ensure the safe handling of trucks.”
Operators further expressed their commitment to continuing these collaborative efforts to ensure safer road transportation of petroleum products.
“Truck accidents and explosions must stop, and through these comprehensive measures, industry operators aim to significantly reduce the incidence of such catastrophic events,” Isong said.
Marketers should turn down underaged drivers, untrained drivers, and trucks that have not undergone inspection or failed the Safe-to-Load integrity checks at loading bays.
Regulatory reviews
Speaking, NMDPRA’s Mr. Dimowo, said the Authority would review its role in terms of updates and enforcement of truck specifications and loading limits with a focus on safety.
On monitoring and evaluation, he said the Authority would approve and implement new technologies for incident detection and monitoring.
On compliance and enforcement, Mr. Dimowo called for clear consequences for non-compliance with safety regulations.
Emphasizing that all trucks are registered and assigned specific ullage permits, he said the need to state what the tank size for petroleum products should be and ensure compliance.
Corroborating, FRSC Sector Commander, emphasized the need for strict enforcement of pre and post Safe-to-Load (STL) integrity inspections on trucks.
On driver certification and road safety initiatives, Mr. Davou called for verification of driver qualifications during STL inspections, collaboration on the 5-pillar road safety initiatives, and proper classification of drivers’ licences for transporting hydrocarbons.
