The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dauda Ali Biu, has urged fleet operators, especially owners of tankers conveying inflammable products, to ensure compliance with minimum safety standards by installing safety valves (anti-spill) in their vehicles in order to eradicate all incidences of mishap resulting from lack of safety valves in tankers.
The caution follows a fatal crash that occured at Ologbo Bridge on the Benin/Sapele Expressway, Delta State, in the early hours of Sunday, 1 October 2023.
The dual crash involved 15 different categories of vehicles, including one Toyota Hiace bus, two Ford buses, one Volkswagen Passat, two J5 Peugeot buses, one Daylong motorcycle, and eight tankers, according to a statement by the Assistant Corps Marshal, Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC Headquarters, Bisi Kazeem.
“From the report gotten from the FRSC rescue team, a total of 15 people, all male adults, were involved. Out of this number, 07 people got injured, while 08 victims were burnt beyond recognition,” the statement said.
It said the accident occurred when a truck laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) coming from Warri, Delta State, fell on the highway and spilled its content on the road. The ensuing explosion “gutted the aforementioned number of vehicles and the 15 male victims”.
“Arising from this, the Corps Marshal, while calling on owners and operators of tankers to comply with all safety standards set by the government on operation of that category of vehicle on Nigerian roads, has directed Commanding Officers to ensure that tankers that do not meet safety standards are not allowed to ply the highways,” it said.
