LASTMA GM Reveals Ways To Avoid Girdlock In Lagos

The General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olawale Musa has said that Lagos road users must change their attitude and obey traffic rules and regulations in order to reduce the incessant traffic gridlock experienced by all motorist.

Musa made the assertion while delivering a paper titled “The Task of Maintaining Sanity on Our Roads” at the Road Users Safety and Security seminar and workshop at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja recently.

He noted that the present administration has hinged its commitment to achieve a “Greater Lagos” on six pillars of development with the acronym THEMES, with the first “T” standing for Traffic Management and Transportation in order to rid the State of the perennial traffic gridlock in some areas of the city.

He highlighted that “the behaviour of some drivers and other road users is synonymous with the traffic situation”, saying the attitude of motorists, unidirectional movement of commuters, inadequacy of transport system, construction activities, bad roads and blocked drainages, problems of yellow buses, road side trading, pedestrian crossing in unauthourised places and the menace of okada and tricycle drivers are some of the major causes of traffic on Lagos roads.

Musa opined that “human beings, including drivers and other road users, abhor what would curtail and impede their freedom. It is this unchecked freedom that incapacitates free flow of traffic and degenerates into disorderliness, chaos and accidents on our roads”.

He went further to identify the different types of reckless behaviour to include distracted driving, over-speeding, driving under influence (DUI), neglect of road signage, disobeying traffic officials, driving in directions prohibited by law as well as driving without headlights and signal lights among others.

While stating the challenges of maintaining sanity on our roads, Musa proffered solutions such as road-user discipline and orientation, civility and fairness on the part of law enforcement officers, stiffer penalties, registering vehicles against owners BVN, inter-modal transport system, technology deployment, advocacy and enlightenment and strict adherence to development plans.

He subsequently sought the cooperation of all road users to ensure that LASTMA officers succed in ensuring sanity on Lagos roads.