Risk assessment of petroleum product transportation by road: A framework for regulatory improvement

Accidents involving transportation of petroleum products by road has been associated with high frequency of occurrence and high safety consequences in developing countries. Using Nigeria as case example, we analysed 2318 accidents involving truck tankers from 2007 to 2012 with a tailored risk assessment framework. The result shows 79% of the accidents were caused by human factors, mainly dangerous driving. More than 70% of the accident resulted in loss of containment leading to spills, fires and explosions. 81% of the accidents resulted in either injuries, fatalities or both. Most of the 972 accidents with fatalities recorded 1-5 fatalities with occurrence frequency of 0.89. The analysis ranks geographical regions (states) in order of accident consequences and frequencies to enhance regulatory distribution. About 7 million USD was estimated as the average cost per accident. Estimated costs are significant and should motivate improved policy design.