The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Friday, has ordered an immediate commencement of special operations against the carrying of petroleum and other inflammable substances in passenger vehicles.

In a statement signed by the Public Education Officer FRSC, Olusegun Ogungbemide, said the directive issued by the Corp Marshal of the FRSC, Marshal Shehu Mohammed will commence immediately.

The directives include massive deployment of patrol operatives on the nation’s highways to conduct search and identify vehicles carrying these products; empty the content into the vehicle when sighted and conduct awareness campaigns on drivers and passengers about the dangers of carrying petroleum products in vehicles.

However, he also directed that unlike the conventional operations, in the course of this intervention patrol, drivers could be prosecuted for compromising the safety of their passengers.

He narrated that no excuse is acceptable for such a dastardly act.

According to FRSC, this is targeted at mitigating fire related road traffic crashes.

The statement in parts, “It is to be a civil engagement that targets at ensuring that those products when sighted, are emptied into the fuel tank of the vehicles. You would recall that pursuant to a number of fire related road crashes that occured on the nation’s highways in recent times, the Corps Marshal had ordered a thorough investigation with a view to unravel the main cause of the inferno.

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“The investigation report revealed that drivers often carry petroleum products while on transit. As such, in the event of a crash, the impact often results in flames leading to heart wrecking fatalities that would have been avoided. In order to bring this to a halt, the Corps Marshal has also directed the Public Education Officers nationwide to complement the intervention patrol with aggressive sensitisation of road users.”

He therefore called on passengers to always ensure that they take their safety in their very hands by reporting to FRSC patrol teams or through emergency lines whenever they suspect the vehicle they boarded have inflammable substances in them.

This, according to him, will help curtail these excesses and enhance the safety of lives and properties as commuters transit from one destination to another.