The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has said that about 30 per cent of truck drivers should not be on road because of their poor vision.
This is as report has it that 30 per cent of the drivers have failed eye test.
Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, the commission’s CEO and Corps Marshal made this known at the 2020 Truck Renewal Conference in Abuja on Thursday.
The conference with the theme: ‘Truck Renewal System: Ensuring Road Transportation Safety’ was jointly organised by the Major oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAM), and Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
He said many truck drivers have eyesight challenges.
This made it dangerous for them to drive at night.
Boboye describing most of the drivers as“ lawless”.
He said that most of the trucks plying the road did not operate with the minimal safety standard which, according to him, had contributed to the cause of many road accidents.
“We need to take action; 30 per cent of drivers failed the vision tests we conducted. I commend MOMAN because most of its members comply to minimal safety standards but the others are yet to do so.
“ Most of the trucks on our highways do not have safety valves, we must enforce the law of no safety valves, no loading of products .
“Just yesterday, a whole family was wiped off to an accident caused by a truck with petrol in Felele Lokoja; this is avoidable if the minimal safety measures were adhered to.
“This is the time to stop all the talk shop and swing into action to avoid the reoccurrence of these on our roads,” he said.
Oyeyemi said that MOMAN and NARTO with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) should join forces in ensuring that drivers complied with the rules and regulation of traffic while driving their trucks.
