Tankers Of Death

TANKERS have become sources of serious hazards to road users. With thousands of litres of combustive fuel in them, their drivers still move with the least consideration for their dangerous contents. They harass smaller vehicles. Tankers are gradually becoming agents of destruction, responsible for the high degree of carnage on our roads.

At the last count, more than five tanker accidents had occurred this year in the South West part of the country. The figures should be higher for the entire country. Last week, a fuel tanker burst into flame consuming seven vehicles, some of which were near it and others that ran into the scene of the accident that occurred at night. About 50 people died while many others were injured including a two-year-old boy and a family of eight.

In Lagos, at various spots including Mile 2, Ojuelegba and the Sango Otta toll gate, there have been tanker explosions which led to loss of lives and property, all within the last three months.

Across the country too, more lives were lost in avoidable accidents that resulted from poor conditions of the tankers, dangerous driving and bad roads. Where the roads are in motorable conditions - a rare situation these days - they are not lit. Poor driving skills and mechanical faults manifest in some incidents where tankers drivers lose control in heavy traffic, causing unimaginable havoc on motorists.

Their companions are trailer drivers, especially those bearing containers. The unfastened containers fall at will, with deadly consequences.

Governments have indicated no interests in these matters outside the occasional visits to the site of the accidents. Immediate measures are necessary to minimise these incidents. Legislations to limit times these vehicles can operate to the wee hours have become necessary in the limit of the havoc they cause to other road users.

The tankers will require more security for the night trips. While government is working on legislations, it is important that immediate steps are taken to control the menace of these vehicles. The first move can be through stringent check of their road worthiness. Most of them are accidents waiting to happen, they should not be in use at all.

Allocated timing and better vehicles, alone, cannot solve the problems. The government should realise that it was the moribund state of the rails that made the roads the major means of transporting heavy goods to most parts of the country.

The importance of rail transportation remains understated. The rails are safer and cheaper means of moving goods to their destination. Their revival will keep most of the trailers off the roads and lengthen the life spans of the roads that are very short, partly due to over use.

While waiting for these, governments must engage tanker and trailer drivers and their owners on ways of reducing the number of accidents on the roads.

On the part of governments, something needs to be done quickly about the state of the roads, they are getting worse daily.