The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says it will hold enlarged stakeholders’ meeting with articulated vehicle operators in Anambra State to check the rate of crashes involving trucks in the state.
Mr. Andrew Kumapayi FRSC Sector Commander in Anambra State said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Thursday.
No fewer than six persons were killed and 14 others sustained varying degrees of injuries when a tanker laden with Kerosene lost control and rammed into a popular motor park in Onitsha on Wednesday.
Another accident also involving tipper lorry, which ran into a local market in Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area of the state, claimed lives and injured many others on Wednesday.
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Kumapayi described the incidence of crashes involving articulated vehicles as alarming and deserving urgent measures to check.
He said the meeting, which will hold before the end of the month, would include drivers and fleet operators of tipper trucks, petroleum tanker and other articulated vehicles in the state.
He said that the command had already reached out to the various unions at the national level, especially those who plied the Anambra state corridors.
“The rate of crashes involving these trucks are worrisome; we intend to hold serious stakeholders’ engagement with them and that I believe will be before the end of this month.
“We shall go beyond advocacy, there shall be strict enforcement on their activities because we don’t want to have recurrence of these crashes in Anambra state,” he said.
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The sector commander said the FRSC was already working with Anambra state government through the ministry of works to enforce restriction on movement of trailers and tankers in some routes of the state.
He said there was also need to dislodge all forms of trading on the major roads of the state to minimise casualties in the event of emergency.
“I am already discussing with the Anambra state government on the need to restrict movement of some of these heavy duty trucks on some roads in the state.
“The traffic environment must also be freed from markets and trading because that is another menace that is common here,” he said.
Kumapayi, who commiserated with the families of those that lost their lives or injured in the crashes, said the command would continue to work for the safety of all road users.
The second commander called for the collaboration of all stakeholders with the commission. (NAN)