In a bid to end incessant fatal road crashes involving petrol tankers and trailers, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said it would soon begin the training and retraining of trailer and tanker drivers in the country. The FRSC Zonal Commander, RS 6.0, Port Harcourt, Bulus Darwang, disclosed this while speaking in Port Harcourt. He said that the programme was also targeted at finding a solution gridlocks caused by long and heavy duty vehicles.
Darwang lamented that many lives had been lost as a result of avoidable mistakes and carelessness of tanker and trailer drivers, even as he recalled how eight students were killed in Sagamu, Ogun State, by a truck laden with containers.
The FRSC zonal commander, who recently assumed his new position, promised to improve the visibility on the highway for the purpose of enforcement and rescue operations.
He said: “I intend to bring improvement on the level of public enlightenment and improvement on the training of trailer and tanker drivers in order to solve the problem of road traffic involving tankers. Many lives have been lost as a result of road accidents involving petrol tankers. We also have cases of trucks carrying containers that are not properly hooked and had fatal accidents. One of such cases happened around Sagamu, where about eight students were killed. I do intend to go into training and retraining of tanker and trailer drivers and more visibility on the highway for the purpose of enforcement and rescue operations.”
On the parallel production of driving licence involving some employees of the corps, Darwang disclosed that he had put machinery in motion to apprehend and punish those involved in the act.
Explaining that he will continue to maintain his stance on zero tolerance for corruption, Darwang warned that any FRSC official caught receiving bribe would not be spared.
He said he was going to read the riot act to commanding officers within his zone, covering Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states.
By Pita Ochai
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