Alhaji Yawale Mohammad is the chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Driver Association, Plateau State chapter. The union leader speaks on the frequent accidents involving trucks laden with fuel, the major cause(s) of such often fatal accidents and why people rush to the scenes of tanker accidents to scoop for fuel with ISAAC SHOBAYO.
NIGERIA has witnessed many accidents of trucks laden with fuel in recent times. Some of these accidents resulted fire that killed many people and destroyed properties. What is the best way to minimize such incidents?
It is quite unfortunate; we are not happy at the rate at which our tankers keep failing, but let us say that every profession has its own hazards, which might degenerate to loss of profits, loss of lives, and /or loss of entire investments in the business. When one dissects the issue properly, most of these accidents involving trucks conveying fuel had to do with bad roads across the country. Our roads are in a deplorable state, and they keep deteriorating every day due to frequent usage by motorists. I want to tell you that if the roads were good, most of these accidents would not have occurred. In the process of dodging potholes and other pits, an accident might have occurred.
Bad roads have often been the usual excuse given for auto accidents across the country. But why is it difficult for these tanker drivers to drive cautiously on these bad roads to prevent accident?
To be honest with you, it is in the process of being conscious that accidents do happen. No reasonable driver will drive anyhow on a bad road. In most cases, you have to [change to high gear] or ‘gear one’ and slow down completely to find your way out of any bad road. While dodging the potholes, the tanker might fall and cause the fuel to spill.
In the past, one could hardly see a relatively young person driving a truck; but nowadays, young men are everywhere driving tankers conveying fuel. What are the requirements for driving such large vehicles, and is there an age-permit for driving them?
I quite understand your comparison. These days, we have young ones from the age of 18 and above driving heavy-duty vehicles like tankers and trailers. But we are living in a very dynamic society; things are changing. In the past, those who went out to learn driving this kind of vehicle were very mature people from age of 25 and above, and the society then saw them as not too responsible people or dropouts from school. But the narrative has changed. Today, there are quite a lot of young ones out there learning how to drive trucks, like they see it as a very decent and lucrative endeavour to engage in. Today, there are graduates and many secondary school certificate holders driving trucks, and many more are still approaching us that they want to learn. For example, I started learning when I was in JSS 3. Before, it normally took two to three years to learn how to drive a truck, but some of our young ones today learn very fast; some of them, within one year, have perfected their driving skills and can drive effectively, probably at the age of 20 to 25. The rates at which the young ones are embracing this profession can also be attributed to the economic reality in the county. While some join because of the passion they have for driving, others join because there is no job in the country. We don’t just give them a truck to drive; there are conditions, with rules and regulations they have to abide by before we allow them to drive on the highway.
In spite of all these challenges, what is your association doing to reduce accidents involving your trucks?
There is little we can do in this regard. Just as I have said, the major reason for these accidents is bad roads. So it is the responsibility of the government to fix these bad roads. Many of the roads have been in a deplorable state for long or probably constructed for more than two decades without being rehabilitated and some were not done properly and, therefore, easily damaged or destroyed within a very short period of time. There is also the need for a synergy between our association and the government for more enlightenment; this can be in the form of seminars and workshops, though the association is not relenting in this regard. Presently, it is an offence for any truck driver lifting fuel to hit the road from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am because 80 per cent of accidents that involved trucks usually happened in the night.
Have you ever sanctioned any driver in this regard?
Quite a lot of violators have been sanctioned in this regard. The sanction could be fines or suspension. There are instances where such offenders are prevented from loading. We have our men in various locations to enforce this. Once we see them, they are apprehended, and that is why you often see our trucks in some places along the highways parked, waiting for 6:00 am before they set out again.
What about the allegation that your members drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol…
(Cuts in) This is no longer rampant among our members. Sometimes before they load at the depot, our vehicles inspection officers (VIOs) will enter their vehicles to check if there is anything like drugs or alcohol in the truck.
It is said that most of these trucks are not properly maintained, resulting in issues such as brake failure and others, which often result in an accident. What is your association doing about this?
That is [part of the reasons] our union, the national body, often calls us for meetings quarterly. In the North here, it is usually every two months where members are sensitized in this regard. For example, we do tell our members to be more careful during the rainy season because their brake could fail along the road. We are not resting on our oars to sensitize our members. We don’t encourage our members to drive recklessly. If you see any driver driving recklessly, snap his number plate and report him to us. There are instances where our members [who were reported for reckless driving] had been punished.
One of the major reasons why people died in numbers whenever a truck conveying fell or had an accident is the temptation to scoop the spilled fuel. What do you think can be done to discourage this deadly habit?
To curb this bad habit, both the association and the government have a lot to do. Our association cannot do much in this regard. We have had instances in the past where our drivers and other Samaritans who tried to prevent them from scooping fuel from accident trucks were beaten and molested by people. About a month ago, a truck fell and busted at Maraba Jarma. Within a twinkle of an eye, some of the people living in the area had gathered to scoop fuel from the tanker while our driver and other people who tried to prevent them were subjected to inhuman treatment until the intervention of the military. I think what the government can do is to continue to create awareness about the danger of this habit. According to our law, once a tanker falls, we should move away for about one kilometre from the scene of the incident.It is from there that we would invite the fire service, and if there is the need to come closer, we come closer. Probably as a result of poverty, once a tanker falls, people see it as an opportunity to make money without taking into cognizance the risk involved. Basically, I think all that is needed to arrest the situation is sensitization and proper education of the citizenry.
Many people marvel whenever they see young ladies driving trucks; the general belief is that truck driving as a profession is meant for men alone. What is your opinion on this?
[Women] are human beings like any one of us. I remember in one of our national meetings, one of the ladies, a tanker driver, was given a cash award to encourage her and to attract more ladies into the profession. It is a welcome development; they should be encouraged. We are happy to see young ones, especially graduates, becoming trailer or tanker drivers. Most of our members are enlightened today, unlike in the past when they were perceived as thugs and miscreants.
What is the relationship between your association and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)?
We have a good working relationship with the FRSC. It often partners with us in terms of sensitization of our members to the precautionary steps to take to avoid accidents. So we are all disturbed by the rate at which our trucks are falling and the danger it poses to society. We are, therefore, appealing to the federal government to prioritize fixing these roads to minimize these incessant accidents. Also, poverty is not an excuse to scoop fuel from a fallen tanker, considering the risk involved. My advice is that people should distance themselves from such a scene.
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