The corps marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has ordered an immediate clampdown on the transportation of inflammable substances like petroleum products across the country.

Mr Mohammed said this in a statement issued by the corps public education officer (CPEO), Corps commander Olusegun Ogungbemide, on Friday in Abuja.

He said that the directives included massive deployment of patrol operatives on the nation’s highways to conduct searches and identify vehicles carrying these products.

He also said that operatives have been directed to ensure that the drivers empty the fuel into their cars.

The corps marshal also directed operatives to embark on an awareness campaign for drivers and passengers on the dangers of carrying petroleum products in vehicles.

Mr Mohammed also stated that, unlike conventional operations, drivers could be prosecuted for compromising the safety of their passengers during the intervention patrol.

“No excuse is acceptable for such dastardly act.

” 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,” he said.

“I also directed a full-scale investigation into the recent fire-related road crashes to determine the source of the infernos and prevent future occurrences.

“The investigation report revealed that drivers often carry petroleum products while in 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,” he said.

The corps marshal also directed the CPEOs nationwide to compliment the intervention patrol with aggressive sensitisation of road users in order to bring this to a halt.

Mr Mohammed, however, called on passengers to always ensure that they took their safety into their hands.

This, he said, should be by reporting to FRSC patrol teams or through emergency lines whenever they suspected the vehicle they boarded had inflammable substances in it.

“This will help curtail these excesses and enhance the safety of lives and properties as commuters transit from one destination to another,” he assured.

(NAN)