Coping with smoky heavy duty vehicles

He told our correspondent that a smoky heavy duty vehicle that emerged from no where caused him the permanent disability. He said on that fateful day he had set out to felicitate with his friend in Ibadan, who just got promoted. “I was driving to Ibadan to felicitate with my bosom friend who was just […]

He told our correspondent that a smoky heavy duty vehicle that emerged from no where caused him the permanent disability.

He said on that fateful day he had set out to felicitate with his friend in Ibadan, who just got promoted.

“I was driving to Ibadan to felicitate with my bosom friend who was just promoted in his office. Just before Ogere, a smoky heavy duty vehicle emerged from nowhere and blocked my visibility.

“Because of this I couldn’t see the potholes on the road, even when I was driving at full speed. I ran into the potholes, hit the heavy duty vehicle severally before my car somersaulted”.

“I woke up in an hospital three days after the gory incident. I never thought I would survive. I thank God I’m alive today, though I now go around with artificial limbs”.

A commercial bus driver, who plies Lagos and Ibadan, Baba Kafaya, also recalled how a smoky heavy duty vehicle almost cost him his life during a rainy season.

“I didn’t see the vehicle from the distance because of its heavy smoke and the impact of the rain on that fateful day. It was when I had a dangerous contact with it that I realised there was a vehicle on the road. My brake failed and people got wounded in my bus. I personally had fracture”.

Aladensanmi and Baba Kafaya are lucky to be alive today to tell their sad tales caused by smoky heavy duty vehicles.

Others didn’t cheat death as they died a prematurely.

There is no gainsaying that majority of mishaps on the highways have one link or the other with these smoky vehicles, most of which failed road worthy test.

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is no exception of where accidents caused by these smoky vehicles have either killed, wounded and maimed innocent lives.

The frequencies of these accidents have sent fever down the spines of most drivers on the highway.

Impact of the smoky vehicles

Observers are of the opinion that smoky vehicles blocked visibility of other road users, thereby increasing the possibility of road mishaps.

They also said the fumes being emitted from the vehicles are dangerous to the health of drivers and other road users.

“The smokes from the vehicles is not human-friendly. Drivers are prone to diseases and can also reduce concentration while on the wheel,” Mr Adefeso Giwa, an auto expert said. Besides, observers said the smokes produced from the vehicle is one of the several defaults of these vehicles which are not good for our roads.

Drivers take caution

Drivers who spoke with our correspondent said they are now wiser and safety conscious on how to keep away from the killer smoky heavy duty vehicles.

Sunmola Fasuyi told our correspondent that his personal experience on how the vehicles killed or maimed people have taught him to be cautious with them on the highway.

“I now keep safest distance from these vehicles. I don’t attempt to overtake them on the highway. I don’t compete with them either. The death of my friend, Biodun, who died due to the carelessness of a heavy duty vehicle driver taught be this useful lesson”.

We are up to the task – FRSC

But the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr Akpabio Nseobong told our correspondent that his command is actually doing great job in keeping the smoky heavy duty vehicles off the road, especially along the Lagos-Ibadan express road.

According to him, last month, 85 heavy duty vehicles were impounded by his men for lack of road worthiness.

He said some of the impounded vehicles would be kept off the road for now, stressing that his command has relaunched a crusade to ensure that smoky heavy duty vehicles are off the road.

He said the Command has also carried out enlightenment programme for heavy duty vehicle drivers and other road users.

He advised the drivers to always service their vehicles before plying the road. He also advised other road users to keep a safe distance from heavy duty vehicles on the highways.