Dike Onwuamaeze
The Lagos State Government has warned that it would no longer tolerate the recklessness exhibited by truck drivers who are causing havoc on the Lagos roads.
The state government also said that it would commission an inquiry to ascertain whether the accidents involving tankers and articulated vehicles, which seem to have developed a consistent pattern, were not deliberate acts of carnage.
It noted that it has observed in the past three months that the state has experienced an upsurge in the number of trailers/tankers involved in major accidents on the expressways and major arteries.
A press release issued wednesday by the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Lagos State, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said that the state government would not allow the lives of Lagosians and visitors to be put at risk even though it would encourage people to do business in Lagos.
“The Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) is to step up its activities in the government’s bid to stop such accidents involving trucks and others.
“The government is also curious about the persistence of tanker accidents at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the resultant gridlock that trails the incidents, spiraling through the entire Ikeja axis of the State and traumatising motorists and commuters.
“On Tuesday, two incidents, one involving a tanker that fell and exploded in flames on Kara Bridge on the outskirts of Lagos and the other involving a heavy-duty truck carrying farm products around Magboro, left motorists and commuters stranded on the Expressway till the early hours of yesterday,” Omotoso said.
He said that the government sympathised with Lagosians on the discomfort resulting from the attitude of careless and reckless drivers travelling from the outskirts into Lagos.
“We will continue to engage the Ogun State Government as well as federal government agencies to identify the cause of the recurring Lagos-Ibadan Expressway accidents and fashion out solutions.
“The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has been mandated to continue its support for Ogun State and Federal Government traffic and emergency management agencies by providing evacuation expertise and equipment for quick removal of vehicles involved in crashes on the Expressway,” he said.
Omotoso observed that such accidents have consistently happened midweek, “specifically on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving traffic tailing onto the Third Mainland Bridge, Agidingbi, Ikeja and even Oregun, in many instances.”
He also enjoined the VIS to step up its services to prevent issuance of Road Worthiness Certificates to undeserving vehicles, particularly trucks that were not fit to ply the roads.
“While the Lagos State Government acknowledges the hardship caused by the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by the Federal Government, made more unbearable by the crude attitude of some articulated vehicle drivers, it will continue to engage stakeholders at all levels to explore ways of addressing the thorny issues until an enduring solution is found to the menace of truck and tanker accidents on our highways,” he said.
