The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has urged stakeholders in the oil and gas industry in Cross River to collaborate, to ensure enhanced Safe To Load, STL, initiative in the state.
The call was made by SC Istifanus Ibrahim, FRSC Sector Commander in Cross River, at a town hall meeting with stakeholders in the petroleum sector on Wednesday in Calabar.
Credible News reports that the STL program applies to all trucks that transport fuel and other hazardous products from facilities operated by oil companies.
This is to ensure that they are in good shape and maintained every six months.
Represented by Joseph Abuo, Head of Operations FRSC, Cross River Command, Ibrahim said the STL program was an initiative of the commission to check the excesses of articulated vehicle drivers and reduce road crashes.
He said while the initiative could be said to be laudable, the commission had faced some challenges in its effective implementation at the depots in Cross River.
According to him, some of these challenges include the transportation of the products at night, allowing motor boys to drive trucks with products, and the refusal to process or renew their driver’s license, among others.
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He appealed to all stakeholders to join hands with the corps to surmount the challenges to ensure safety on Nigerian roads.
On his part, Mr Robert Obi, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, said that allowing tankers with lots of shortfalls to load, is not just a risk to the business owner but the society too.
He charged the FRSC officers incharge of the STL at the depots in Calabar to sit up, noting that a truck load of PMS is about N30 million and should be conveyed by trucks in very good condition to avoid losses and accidents.
“We must refuse to be compromised and disallow any truck that does not meet up with the standard from loading, if you do this, we will be reducing risk against Nigerians and people’s investments.
“We need stronger collaboration between the stakeholders and FRSC, to ensure adequate enforcement of the STL scheme.
“The collaboration will also ensure that tanker and trailer drivers park in the allocated parks and not on the road,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Ademola Aderoye, Depot Manager of Orix Energies, said convening a meeting to discuss issues that mitigate against smooth loading and transportation of petroleum products was commendable.
Represented by Mr Effanga Bassey, Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, HSE, Orix Energies, he noted that before strict enforcement is carried out, there must be enlightenment campaign involving the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, task force.
Some issues that the FRSC in collaboration with other stakeholders decided to work on included a harmonised checklist for trucks by all relevant agencies, an on the spot assessment of the roads leading to the depots in Calabar.
Other issues included excessive roadblocks along major highways, which cause crashes and impunity of truck drivers, who park on the road side instead of the parks, among others.
Credible news.ng