KEEPING faith with its safety first slogan, Total Nigeria Plc, recently in Ibadan commissioned its ultra modern truck drivers training school and truck inspection centre (TDTS).Speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Francoise Boussagol said the project was informed by the need to help reduce accidents on the highways.According to him, though being a part of the company's corporate social responsibility, the project is also its response to road safety issues, which has posed great threat to lives, businesses and properties.Speaking further, he said though the institute stated operations fully last year, it had been able to train over 1400 truck drivers, adding that plans were currently in advance stage to commence the second phase, which would admit external professional drivers.'The TDTS which started operations on March 2011 is designed to provide an ideal environment for comprehensive training of truck drivers after which they will be equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills required to drive trucks moving hazardous goods.Drivers training cover, petroleum products characteristics, fire characteristics and truck driving techniques, including braking, power transmission and rollover theories among others.In addition to training, medical teams are invited to carry out eye tests, as well as demonstrate the effect of alcohol on vision in the class. Total Nigeria transporters, who are the strategic partners in the school project and employers of these drivers, are also trained in the school annually on transport safety as they have vital roles to play in ensuring that the drivers comply with safety rules,' Boussagol said.Giving a detailed account of the company's performance in the oil and gas industry, he said it moved about 1.6 million metric tonnes of petroleum products in 2011.According to him, the products were transported with outsourced fleet of 1,400 trucks, covering an aggregate distance of 47 million kilometres.Besides, he attributed the high volume of fuel being moved by trucks on road across the country to the unstable state of electricity, adding that majority of firms and households rely on petroleum products for energy.'Large volume of petroleum product consumed daily is moved by road from the coastal depots in the south to all parts of the country as the rail and the network of petroleum product pipelines are also not efficient,' he said.Explaining further, he said though the oil industry hasmany players, Total controls about 11 per cent of the business.The Total boss also said the need to establish the training school was informed by, the challenging transportation environment, where the road had been poor and inadequate.He said the training sessions would be conducted in English and the three major Nigerian languages with pictorial and extensive practical classes.The training school, he said, had trained 1,400 drivers in one year and hinted of Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajumobi commended the Total's initiative, which he said would reduce truck accidents, travel time and improve the business environment, as well as, the nation's economy.
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