AMATO Embarks On Safety Awareness Campaign At Lagos Ports Corridor
Chairman of AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi (3rd from left) and Deputy Commissioner of Police Western Ports, DCP Adeleke, Secretary General of AMATO, Mr Mohammed Sanni Bala and other members of the association during a visit to the police on Friday
By DAPO OLAWUNI
The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) on Friday embarked on a safety awareness campaign at the Lagos ports corridors.
Chairman of AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi who led the crusade to the various ports, stated that the primary purpose of the safety awareness and sensitization exercise among truckers is to reduce the rate at which containers were falling off the trucks and claiming lives and properties.
He said the awareness is also to educate truckers on ensuring that containers are properly latched to the trucks body, in order to avoid accidents
According to Chief Ogungbemi, the campaign also seeks to reduce the rate at which truck drivers operate under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and to ensure drivers have valid driver’s license.
Other goals of the awareness campaign include “To ensure that Owners maintain their trucks adequately with essential components i e functional headlamps, reflective tape at the trailer end, side mirrors, etc.
“To inculcate and promote adherence to driving rules and regulations among drivers for safety of life and property.
To ensure that truck Drivers dress professionally”
AMATO has however appealed to road traffic law enforcement agencies to stop breaking members trucks side mirrors, lights, windscreen, deflating tyres, among other.
“Road traffic law enforcement’ agencies should stop removing the plate numbers of our trucks.
“Road traffic law enforcement agencies should be more of corrective than punitive.
“Road traffic law enforcement agencies should stop using truckers as family support device, as all these forms part of the reasons why most of the truck are in a rickety and dilapidated conditions, because the money we are suppose to use to maintaining our trucks are being collected directly or indirectly under flimsy excuses of working for government and using of government machineries” Chief Ogungbemi stated.
