Safety on Roads: TRACE warns oil tankers, cement truck against overloading  

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE,  on Thursday warned all articulated vehicles hauling cement, fuel and other hazardous substances to desist from overloading their vehicles.
TRACE Corps Commander/CEO, Seni Ogunyemi, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ota, Ogun.
He said that the determination to put an end to the excesses of some articulated vehicles whose activities often led to fatal road accidents involving loss of lives and destruction of property.
Ogunyemi said the warning had become necessary to prevent incessant crashes involving the articulated vehicles, which have become rampant.
According to him, the National Road Traffic Regulations (2013) stipulate that no vehicles should carry more than the equivalent of the weight of 600 bags of cement.
He said: “Overloading is a common feature of some of these trucks and tankers which contribute to brake failure that often cause many road crashes.
“Apart from the excess weight of the trucks, because they are carrying more than what the law permits them to, overloading also reduces the durability of the roads, resulting in infrastructure damage, which often lead to road crashes.’’
The TRACE boss, therefore, implored container-laden truck drivers to ensure that the containers are properly latched to their vehicles.
According to the TRACE boss, normal petrol tankers should carry between 22,000 and 33,000 litres, depending on the type, “but our investigations reveal that truck owners do extend the frame and tyres, so that they can increase the contents they convey at a time.
He said: “This is one of the factors that destroy roads. Petrol tanker owners should ensure that they carry normal contents in their vehicles and desist from carrying more than what their vehicles should carry.’’
Ogunyemi added that TRACE operatives were now equipped with modern devices to detect erring trucks and to arrest them immediately.
He said: “Henceforth, any erring truck driver apprehended for the first time would be booked, while recalcitrant offenders would be prosecuted in the courts.”
He urged motorists plying the Owode/Ijako area to desist from taking `one way’ and allow sanity to prevail at the axis, so as not to distract construction workers on the road.