Motion: Compelling Need to Enforce Nationwide Ban on Movement of Heavy-Duty Vehicles in Daytime

by  Senator Ned Munir Nwoko

The Senate,Notes that Nigeria has witnessed an alarming surge in Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs), resulting in a staggering annual death toll exceeding 40,000 individuals as reported by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC);

Also notes that the statistics reveal a concerning trend, with a 6.01 per cent increase in road traffic crashes in the fourth quarter of 2022, escalating further by 6.16 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2021, as documented by the FRSC;

Further notes that the distressing figures persist into the third quarter of 2023, with Nigeria recording 2,187 road accidents, as verified by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and substantiated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest NBS Road Transport Data for Q4 2023;

Aware of the proliferation of heavy-duty trucks, often laden with hazardous materials such as petroleum products, resulting in catastrophic consequences including fatalities, injuries, and severe traffic congestion across the nation. The FRSC has elucidated that articulated vehicles, tankers, and trailers were responsible for the deaths of 3,200 persons in road accidents between 2015 and 2018, with Nigeria incurring a staggering loss exceeding N39 billion to tanker and trailer-related road crashes in 2018 alone;

Equally aware that recent weeks have borne witness to a succession of tragic incidents involving fuel-laden tankers, trailers, and cement trucks, precipitating ghastly accidents with alarming casualty rates;

Informed about the grievous incident that transpired in Rivers State on April 26, 2024, wherein a fuel-laden tanker erupted in flames, claiming the lives of four individuals and engulfing approximately 100 vehicles at the Eleme section of the East-West Road, following a collision with another vehicle, catalyzing a catastrophic explosion that rapidly spread to adjacent tankers and vehicles ensnared in the ensuing traffic impasse;

Informed also about another harrowing incident that occurred at Okene Bypass on the Okene-Lokoja expressway in Kogi State, on April 28, 2024, involving a cement truck which tragically claimed the lives of no fewer than 19 individuals, epitomizing the perils posed by heavy-duty vehicles;

Concerned that it has become all too commonplace to encounter fuel-laden tankers, heavily laden cement trucks, and articulated vehicles hauling perilous cargo jostling for space alongside passenger vehicles during daylight hours and early evenings, exacerbating the risk of collisions and calamities on the nation’s roadways;

Gathered that certain states, including Lagos and Abia, have implemented prohibitions on the daytime movement of trucks and trailers on state roads, confining their operations to nocturnal hours as a proactive measure to mitigate the escalating carnage on daytime roads;

Deeply concerned that failure to uniformly enforce such regulations nationwide portends a continuation of road accidents involving heavy-duty vehicles, characterized by an alarming fatality rate and the sustained hemorrhaging of billions of naira in economic losses;

According resolves to:

i. Call upon the Federal Ministry of Transportation to collaborate with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to incorporate a nationwide ban on daytime movement of heavy-duty vehicles into its Safety Requirements/Guidelines for Articulated Lorries (Tankers/Trailers) Operations in Nigeria, permitting their operation only between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 am.

ii. Equally call upon the FRSC to exercise greater diligence in their operations, upgrade traffic and vehicle standard regulations where necessary, and ensure strict enforcement.

iii. Mandate the Senate committee on Land Transport to conduct thorough oversight and ensure compliance with stipulated regulations.