…84 vehicles impounded
…Passenger dies
CITIZENS COMPASS— Some hoodlums over the weekend, assaulted and injured some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) while trying to restore sanity on duty.
Meanwhile, the agency succeeded in impounding 84 commercial and private vehicles for various traffic infractions during a comprehensive weekend crackdown at Idumota, Iddo, Ijora-Olopa, Costain and Onipanu.
Confirming this on Sunday, in a statement, LASTMA spokesperson, Adebayo said: The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has intensified its enforcement operations across identified traffic flashpoints in the State, impounding 84 commercial and private vehicles for various traffic infractions during a comprehensive weekend crackdown at Idumota, Iddo, Ijora-Olopa, Costain and Onipanu.
The enforcement exercise was principally aimed at restoring sanity, orderliness and strict compliance with extant traffic regulations, particularly along corridors where persistent violations by recalcitrant motorists and commercial bus operators have continued to pose a formidable threat to road safety and the unhindered movement of traffic.
Of grave concern to the Agency was the increasingly perilous practice of commercial buses reversing against traffic along the one-way stretch from Iddo back to Idumota through Cater Bridge, an irresponsible manoeuvre capable of catching unsuspecting motorists, commuters and pedestrians completely unawares.
‘Motorists and other legitimate road users approaching the bridge may have little or no forewarning that a commercial vehicle is unlawfully reversing against the prescribed direction of traffic, thereby creating an extremely hazardous situation with the potential to precipitate devastating collisions, injuries and fatalities”
The enforcement operation, however, encountered resistance from some recalcitrant individuals, during which LASTMA personnel were physically assaulted and injured while carrying out their statutory responsibilities. Some notorious miscreants and hoodlums who attacked and damaged the Agency’s operational vehicles during the enforcement exercise were apprehended.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed the enforcement as a necessary and long-overdue intervention designed to curb the growing culture of impunity among certain road users and restore discipline along critical traffic corridors.
Bakare-Oki reiterated that the Agency had repeatedly cautioned transport operators, commercial bus drivers and other road users against occupying under-bridge spaces, road setbacks and unauthorised locations as illegal garages, stressing that such practices constitute serious impediments to effective traffic management and pose considerable risks to public safety.
The General Manager emphasised that the sustained enforcement campaign is aimed at securing compliance with extant traffic regulations, deterring hazardous driving practices and safeguarding the lives and property of motorists, commuters, pedestrians and other road users, adding that no individual or group would be permitted to appropriate public roads, bridges or under-bridge spaces for illegal loading, parking, repairs or garage operations.
LASTMA consequently admonished commercial bus operators, motorists, transport unions and other stakeholders to immediately desist from one-way driving, dangerous reversing, illegal parking, indiscriminate loading and the occupation of unauthorised garages or under-bridge locations, warning that further infractions would attract appropriate enforcement measures in accordance with extant Lagos State traffic laws.
Members of the public were equally urged to remain vigilant and promptly report dangerous driving, traffic obstructions, reckless motorists and other traffic-related infractions through the LASTMA Toll-Free Short-Code 3367, thereby enabling the Agency to respond expeditiously and prevent avoidable incidents on the State’s road network.
Similarly, tragedy struck over the weekend, when a passenger died as a commercial bus violently hit a pole along the Ojuelegba axis of Surulere, Lagos State.
Citizens Compass reports that the driver of the ill-fated commercial Volkswagen bus with license plate, LND 130 XR, was under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred in the evening.
Adebayo confirmed the incident in his updates.
According to him: Tragedy was recorded along the Ojuelegba axis of Surulere, Lagos, following a fatal lone accident involving a commercial Volkswagen bus (LND 130 XR), which suddenly careered violently into a median pole at Ogunlana Junction inward Ojuelegba by Fallout area of Surulere.
Preliminary security reports indicated that the driver of the ill-fated commercial bus was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and had reportedly been operating the vehicle in a reckless and hazardous manner shortly before the crash. Motorists approaching from the rear were said to have exercised considerable caution in their attempts to avoid a collision with the erratically driven vehicle.
In the ensuing pandemonium, a male passenger, apparently attempting to escape from the uncontrolled moving vehicle, jumped out of the bus and sustained grievous injuries upon impact with the ground. Tragically, the passenger subsequently succumbed to the injuries sustained in the incident.
LASTMA personnel conducting routine traffic surveillance and monitoring along the Ojuelegba axis swiftly mobilised to the scene upon sighting the crash. The officers immediately instituted emergency traffic-management measures, secured the accident scene and expeditiously removed the deceased passenger and the severely damaged vehicle from the carriageway, thereby averting the imminent threat of a potentially catastrophic secondary collision.
Security personnel from the Area C Police Division, Ojuelegba, provided the necessary security cover at the scene, while officials of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEHMU) promptly arrived and evacuated the remains of the deceased passenger.
LASTMA emphasised that the tragic incident constitutes yet another grim reminder of the potentially irreversible consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless motoring and the operation of mechanically defective vehicles on public roads.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, admonished both commercial and private motorists to undertake comprehensive mechanical inspections of their vehicles before embarking on every journey, with particular attention to braking systems, tyres, steering mechanisms and other critical safety components.
While commiserating with the bereaved family of the deceased passenger, Bakare-Oki reaffirmed the Agency’s unwavering commitment to prompt incident response, effective traffic management, expeditious accident-scene clearance and the preservation of lives on Lagos roads.
