Tanker drivers and training need assessment

There is no doubt about the fact that the level of damages done by accidents involving tankers and other articulated vehicles is worrisomely high.

However, some of the solutions being proffered by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and some state governments are not correctly articulated. Those measures amount to putting the cart before the horse and cannot significantly reduce the crashes involving articulated vehicles in Nigeria. Proper problem diagnosis must always precede the announcement of solutions which willeventually fail.

Going down the memory lane, articulated vehicles have been plying Nigerin roads for at least 30years now despite the fact that there is no single driving school that has a tanker or trailer to train the drivers as affirmed by FRSC. In Nigeria as at today, there are over 100,000  articulated vehicles plying Nigerian  roads. Out of the over 200,000 drivers handling the articulated vehicles, not up to 4,000 of them were involved in accidents in a year which boils down to two percent.

This brief analogy tells us that if these whole lot of driver have been moving the vehicles safely without going to driving schools, then the major challenge of the drivers of articulated vehicles is not in teaching them how to operate the vehicles but in the management of the drivers by their employers and in the drivers’ ability to effectively co– ordinate their driving.

If driving schools should buy trailers for the training of drivers, they will need to embark on behind– the – wheel instruction for example, from Lagos to Kano for comprehensive hands -on training. The diesel or gas used will be about N50,000.00.

How much will the driving schools charge such an individual and how many people can afford to pay?

How many VIOs have trailers and well-built driving range for the testing of such drivers in Nigeria? None for now! The purchase of articulated vehicles by Driving schools, VIOs and FRSC is not the focal issue now. Prevention education by driving schools backed up by thorough tests on the part of the VIOs and unbiased enforcement and prosecution by FRSC Officers holds the ace.

The result – oriented actions I expected the FRSC and State governments to take is to embark on a deep research on how the trailer drivers have been successfully learning how to operate the vehicles without going to formal driving schools? What were the challenges they encountered in the process? What problems or damages did they cause in the process of learning to drive? What are the problems they are still battling with and the effects on road safety?

Objective investigation should be conducted to know the actual factors that caused each accident involving articulated vehicles (Investigation, Recording and Reporting). Answers to the above – mentioned questions will pave way for effective solution to the accident crisis. Such reports may be in soft copies only, to save cost.

Within the past four years, I have been involved in interacting and training some drivers of articulated vehicles and I found out that the factors responsible for their involvement in road accidents is not that they did not know how to operate or move the vehicles. Rather, their major challenges include the following:

1. Lack of deep understanding of the vehicle characteristics, vehicle dynamics and driving forces such as the effects of gravity, centrifugal force, centripetal force, kinetic energy, inertia, hydroplaning, and road banking on the movement of articulated vehicles.
2. Inadequate attention to the use of the weapon of driver diary and fatigue management by their employers.
3. Inadequate knowledge of the drivers on fatigue, sleep debt, chronic fatigue syndrome and allied challenges such as high blood pressure and diabetes among others.

4. The usually unresolved controversy between the Drivers and their Employers on Brake management, Load management, Speed management and Road worthiness of vehicles.
5. Lack of in-depth knowledge of the components, workings, effects and dangers of Alcohol, Energy Drinks, Cannabis, and other forms of Psychoactive drugs (including some categories of prescription drugs) as well as the effects of sex – in – transit and the use of sex enhancement drugs on driving.

If FRSC, State Governments and Driving Schools in Nigeria buy one million Tankers and other articulated vehicles for the training of Drivers, it will not solve 10 percent of the problems. Rather, it will result to a waste of resources unless the above – mentioned challenges are adequately and effectively addressed.

I also want to suggest that all the Transport Companies that are operating fleets of articulated vehicles should be allowed to use their experienced Drivers to train the newly employed Drivers on how to Drive or operate the vehicles as they have been doing in the past. They should also have driving range. The popular training system hitherto used includes accompanying the new Drivers in journeys for hand – on training which is good. To become Trailer Drivers, they must have known how to drive smaller vehicles like buses with reasonable driving experience.

All the articulated vehicle Owners must however be compelled by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and State Governments to send all their Drivers to  FRSC – accreditedDriving Schools for mandatory capacity building training programmes where they will be deeply taught the above – mentioned topics among others and issued with “Certificate of Competence” by the Driving Schools (to be renewed annually).

Arrested traffic offenders should be fined and promptly sent to Driving Schools for correctional training programmes without any iota of compromise.

Driving Schools however need to complement their training with computerized simulators designed for Drivers of articulated vehicles, videos and other relevant Driver Education resources to enhance the effectiveness of their training programmes. Driving Schools will surely be able to do this if their training opportunities currently being hijacked by the FRSC and some State Government Agencies are totally left for them to run.

What is much more needed now is a result – oriented Stakeholders forum which will include the Ministries of Transport (Federal & State), FRSC, VIOs, Association of Driving Instructors of Nigeria(the Umbrella Body of the Driving Schools in Nigeria], Transport/Haulage Companies and the various Transport Companies to proffer the short – term and long- term solutions to the challenges. The previous exclusion of Driving Schools from the Stakeholders’ meetings is a very costly error which needs to be promptly corrected to achieve the desired goals.

Without any iota of doubt, I am very confident that these prescription will drastically reduce and eventually eliminate the accidents involving the Drivers of articulated vehicles in Nigeria.