The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has released more information about the preliminary investigation into the accident that happened on Thursday. Two 20-foot containers fell on moving vehicles on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos State, killing one person and injuring four others.
In an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Olusegun Ogungbemide, who is the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Lagos State, said that the Corps’ preventive measures have led to a drop in these kinds of incidents in the state.
“If you look at where we come from, you would see problems with truck collisions and containers falling on people almost every day.” And it was this that gave rise to the twist-locking and latching policy. It’s awful that we had to lose a life as a result of what we saw yesterday.
“Before now, we’ve been experiencing these container problems, possibly as a result of terrible roads and driver malfeasance.” However, the policy has not actually resulted in the loss of lives. If it weren’t for the rule that stipulates that the container must be twist-locked or latch-locked, yesterday’s incident might have been more disastrous.
“The owner of that automobile must produce the man who had that issue yesterday.” The operation has started. He can only run; he can’t run indefinitely, because until we make the choice to accept responsibility for our actions and inactions on the road, things will continue as usual. “However, the story has shifted,” he stated.
When asked about the forensic investigation into the current incident, Ogungbemide said that the articulated vehicle that was used to move the containers that fell was legal.
It was, indeed. According to the man, if you look at the video or photo of that truck, the container was still inside; it just fell over the vehicle, and the preliminary investigation determined that the driver’s negligence or carelessness was to blame.
He claims that the FRSC has discovered gaps that reckless drivers are using.
“We now realize that the various locations, yet we still see some of these cars outside (with containers that are not twist-locked or latched).” We are currently referring to people who load from ports, where we have both the Tincan and the Apapa Wharf as operatives. You must be twist-locked before you can pull away.
“When they leave the ports, they travel to a bonded terminal and transload onto another vehicle, eluding those who were keeping watch on them there.” Since we now need to focus our keen eyes on the bonded terminals as well as the ports, I have been working with VIS.
“I won’t argue against the idea that there isn’t a flawless system. We have operatives along the line for this reason. We have more than five commands lined up along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor. As a result, if you escape in Lagos, you cannot escape at Mowe, he remarked.
Ogungbemide said that the rule applies everywhere that cargo is loaded, for both wet and dry cargo, and that Corps workers are on the ground.
“You find them more in Lagos and Port Harcourt, where we have ports.” They are still dispersed throughout all of the other active ports. The Road Transport Safety Standardization Scheme (RTSS) is the other one that has helped and is more comparable to it.
“It’s a scam that emerged in 2009 that claimed our haulage system was unregulated and open to everyone, which is why we were experiencing a number of crashes.” The operators are unconcerned about the upkeep of the vehicle or the condition of the drivers.
“Driver status is related to how the RTSS arrived at the checkmate.” The drivers you choose to work for your service must answer to you. The second is that you need to be able to account for the cars you put on the road, and the third is operator-related: what amenities have you set up for the convenience of your drivers?
Any fleet owner with more than four or five vehicles in their fleet ought, in his opinion, to register under that policy.
