The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), on Monday, reiterated its call on owners and drivers of articulated vehicles to ensure its proper and regular maintenance to reduce truck-related accidents.
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Mr Samuel Obayemi, Zonal Commanding Officer, RS2 Command, comprising Lagos and Ogun States, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Obayemi spoke against the backdrop of a petrol-laden tanker accident in Ogun section on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Sunday, where the driver lost control and rammed into a road median, sparking a fire.
The inferno, which claimed the life of a pedestrian and razed two vehicles, occurred at the Lotto corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Obayemi, an Assistant Corps Marshal, told NAN that many of the trucks plying Nigeria roads were old and not properly managed by their owners and operators.
“We have always insisted on regular vehicle maintenance to ensure that their vehicles are road worthy before putting such on the road.
“They (truck owners/operators) must always remember that, it is less costly for such vehicles to be regularly maintained than allowing them to be involved in a crash.
“It will be more expensive to get the vehicles repaired, apart from the loss of lives that could be involved,”the FRSC boss said.
He said it was unfortunate that the incident involved a female passer-by, who was innocently trying to cross the road when the raging fire caught up with her.
The zonal commanding officer said that the corps decried the situation where articulated vehicles were not properly maintained.
He said that more than 70 per cent of such accidents occured as a result of brake failure on the part of the trucks.
Obayemi urged all road users to drive with care as activities had returned on major highways after the lockdown.
The FRSC boss said that the corps would continue its advocacy, sensitisation and awareness campaign, as well as enforcement, to instil road safety culture in motorists.