RAHIM YAR KHAN: Bad working conditions for drivers and alleged violations of rules and regulations by the oil distribution companies have been highlighted as major reasons for the increase in the number of oil tanker accidents in the Rahim Yar Khan district.

There were 51 oil tanker accidents during the last three-and-a-half years in the district. Two persons died on the spot in the accidents while 33 were injured, according to a data-based analysis by Rescue 1122.

According to District Emergency Officer Dr Abdul Sattar Babur, the data has been collected through emergency response, visits to the accident sites and interviews of the eyewitnesses as well those of the injured.

“After the tragic incident of an oil tanker near Ahmedpur East in June 2017 in which more than 200 people died, we started investigating the reasons for such accidents,” he says.

51 accidents occurred in only RYK district in three years

Giving the details, Babur says that from January 1, 2017 to June 25, 2020, 51 oil tanker overturning accidents took place in the district and they included 17 in tehsil Rahim Yar Khan, 12 in tehsil Sadiqabad, 12 in tehsil Liaqatpur and 10 in tehsil Khanpur.

“Twenty-one accidents happened due to dizziness/sleep,sixteen due to negligence, six due to mechanical faults, bad road conditions were behind six accidents and two incidents happened due to weather conditions.”

The data shows that 31 oil tankers involved in the accidents were of Pakistan State Oil, four were of Hascol, two each of the NLC and private companies and 12 other privately owned, he points out.

According to the analysis, Mr Babur alleges that the maximum oil tanker companies violate the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) rules and move each tanker with one driver while two drivers are mandatory.

He says oil distribution companies use substandard andlow priceoil tankers by involving those owned byathird party, instead of their own tankers, for supply with untrained drivers whose lack of basic protective knowledge and less technical information about oil tankers have raised the number of accidents to a dangerous level.

Mr Babur states that the companies seriously violate the rules of excel load management and most oil tankers use two excels when three are essential and this disturbs their balance and results in accidents. Besides, the tankers are overloaded and drivers violate speed regulations and do wrong side overtaking.

Another reason for high ratio of accidents in the region of the Rahim Yar Khan is mental and physical fatigue of the drivers who start their journey from Karachi and reach almost a mental and physical collapse around Rahim Yar Khan. The distance between Karachi and Rahim Yar Khan is 660km but oil tankers take far more time than general vehicles to cover this distance.

Mr Babur further explains that due to unavailability of heavy cranes and cooling machinery, rescue operations take more time and hours long traffic jams occur at the national highway. He suggests to the District Petroleum Association (DPA) to provide a heavy crane and oil shifting machinery at two points round the clock on the National Highway to tackle the accidents.

It’s also the responsibility of the association to hold safety courses for drivers, install firefighting equipment in oil tankers and implement Ogra rules for transportation of oil, Babur suggests.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2020