Agberen Says NASS Must Enact Laws With Strict Penalties To Tackle Reckless Trailer, Tanker Drivers

…FRSC Not Doing Enough, He Says

By Daniel Dafe

Comr.(Amb) Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, National Coordinator, Initiative For Social Rights Concerns And Advancement (ISRCA) AKA “No Justice, No Peace” has said that it is high time the National Assembly enacts laws that prohibit younger trailer drivers from driving trucks in Nigeria and also regulate the time they ply the roads, adding that “it should not be during the day as majority of the people go about their jobs during same time, as each trailer truck, poses serious threat to the people, especially when on a road traffic.”

Agberen said this in a statement on Wednesday made available to media houses.

According to him, he has lost count of truck accidents.

His words: “We cannot narrate incidents of trailer (truck) accidents that have claimed lives of people also causing serious damages on structures on roads yearly. Trailers (trucks) are heavy duty equipment that should not be on the roads, driving side by side with other road users.”

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He continued: “The Federal Government has never considered this aspect of road safety or preventive measures, especially on trucks transporting gasoline products, which are explosives and can easily wreak havoc. Unfortunately, trailer trucks of these kinds are either stocked in between other vehicles on traffic, endangering the lives of hundreds of people. Also, the recklessness of underage trailer drivers should also call for serious concerns, as there is need to caution and suggest serious and strict penalties.”

Adding: “The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), whose responsibility is to enforce laws and also sue for more stringent measures to be passed into bills are busy vetting vehicle licenses and driving kits, leaving these aspects of road safety security, as regards trailers (trucks) driving.”

“The agency are mostly interested in trivia faults where they could easily penalize offenders to generate money rather than end cases that follow incidents from trailers (trucks) containing explosives, coupled with reckless drivers,” he opined.

Meanwhile, he said “the news coming from Ojoo-Iwo Road, near the Agbowo/Ajao area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, is not a good one at all,” just as he condoled with the families of the bereaved that lost their lives.