TheCable

Following two truck accidents in a space of three days, the Lagos state government is enforcing the road traffic law 2012 restricting trailers and long vehicles from plying the metropolis between 6am and 9pm.

Oluseyi Whenu, permanent secretary at the ministry of transportation, disclosed this at a meeting with the leadership of the various transport unions in the state.

He explained that the restriction was to ensure strict enforcement of the road traffic law, which, according to him, was often violated by the trailer drivers.

According to NAN, the fatal accident involving a container-laden trailer on September 2 at Ojuelegba prompted the meeting.

Whenu said the trailer contravened Section 2 (i) and 2 (ii) of the road traffic law 2012.

He said government would henceforth go tough on any trailer and long vehicle that contravenes the law, adding that such vehicle would be impounded and made to pay the stipulated fine accordingly.

The scribe, however, clarified government’s position on the new directive given to Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to adopt the system of booking traffic offenders rather than apprehending their vehicles.

He said the new directive would pay more emphasis on flawless flow of traffic, while traffic offenders would be expected to pay their fines within the stipulated period.

Whenu solicited the cooperation and support of all transport operators in ensuring the success of this laudable initiative.

“The state government has also directed that all commercial passenger vehicles should obey all traffic rules and regulations by stopping only at designated bus stops and close bus doors while in motion,” he said.

Responding, Musa Muhammed, the state chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), expressed the unions’ readiness to comply with the laws to prevent accidents.

Muhammed, who spoke on behalf of other union leaders, pledged their members’ readiness to cooperate with the government in maintaining law and order, and sanity in the transport sector.

The road traffic bill was signed into law by the Babatunde Fashola administration in August 2012.