Total Nigeria deepens road safety, audits 4,889 trucks

As part of efforts to enhance road safety, Total Nigeria PLC (TNPLC), says it has audited 4,889 trucks through its Truck Drivers’ Initiative at a training facility in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Executive General Manager, Total Country Services, Bunmi Popoola-Mordi, stated this during a webinar series on the company’s Truck Drivers Initiative held at the weekend.

Against the backdrop of serious concerns over the state of trucks and drivers conveying petroleum products on Nigerian roads, Total Nigeria PLC (TNPLC) highlighted how its Truck Drivers’ Initiative is improving road safety in Nigeria with continuous training and audits.

Giving a further breakdown of the training and audit figures, Popoola-Mordi, said Total conducted 2,181 truck driver training, 2, 740 truck audits at its training facility in Ibadan, between 2017 and 2020, while helping other players to conduct 2,149 truck audits between 2018 and 2020.

The company noted that the effort resulted in zero fatalities and severe accidents, zero lost time injury and zero spill in cubic metres, amongst Total Nigeria PLC drivers since 2017, as the training has ensured “Improved defensive driving skills; reduction of road accidents caused by driver behaviour and truck breakdown; handling of dangerous goods during transportation and public enlightenment on road safety topics; and government regulatory agencies’ campaigns.”

Popoola-Mordi noted that one of the areas that the company had been contributing enormously in the country was in the area of road safety and there was a need to not only highlight the contributions but to inform and galvanise stakeholders in order to get feedback for continuous improvement.

Fielding questions on the Truck Drivers Initiative, the GM, HSEQ Mr Muhyideen Nuradeen, maintained that while the company was in the business of making a profit, it remains more interested in saving lives by making the roads as safe as possible and ensuring drivers return safely to their families and loved ones at the end of each business day.