The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is worried that Nigerian drivers binge on alcohol a little too much for their own good.
And tanker drivers are the biggest culprits, the FRSC has said.
The FRSC also disclosed that no fewer than 45 tanker drivers lost their lives on the highways between January and August this year no thanks to alcohol.
Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, made the declarations during the 2015 annual Petroleum Tanker Drivers Training Programme which held at the office of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers in Port Harcourt.
Oyeyemi explained that despite the commission’s awareness and sensitisation programmes, tanker drivers still engage in illicit drugs and indiscriminate consumption of alcohol.
He said most Nigerian drivers are just as guilty. He added that apart from being involved in ghastly road accidents, consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol before driving was detrimental to the lives of drivers and those of other road users.
“This issue is a general problem as it is not limited to truck drivers alone. It includes the elite who goes to clubs after taking excessive alcohol and sees a trailer and overtakes it at a dangerous point,” he said.
Oyeyemi was represented at the event by the Deputy Corps Marshal, Mr. Ademola Lawal.
He however said there are plans to catch culprits of drunk driving.
“Now, we have a lot of breathalyzers in all our stores, which we have distributed to all our commands.
“Anybody that drives dangerously on the highway and we manage to get him to stop, we will make him undergo alcohol and any other drug tests. If you are found to be having more than enough in your system, the law will take its course.”
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