The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has swung into action across the state, launching a no-nonsense clampdown on the dangerous habit of vehicular overloading.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos, describing the exercise as part of the agency’s unwavering resolve to make Lagos roads safer and compel strict obedience to traffic laws.
He explained that the seizure of vehicles followed sustained public enlightenment campaigns and repeated warnings that fell on deaf ears. In all, 27 commercial and private vehicles were impounded during a dawn operation that caught offenders flat-footed.
According to him, the exercise was triggered by growing alarm over the threats that overloaded vehicles pose on major highways and busy inner-city roads.
“The operation was executed following heightened concerns over the escalating risks posed by overloaded vehicles on major arterial corridors and densely trafficked inner-city routes.
“LASTMA enforcement officers field assessment exposed a deeply disconcerting pattern wherein motorists particularly operators of commercial vehicles indiscriminately burden their vehicles with assorted goods, stored indiscriminately within luggage compartments and precariously mounted atop vehicle roofs.
“Such unsafe practices grossly obstruct rearward visibility, destabilise vehicular balance and critically impair a driver’s situational awareness of approaching traffic, especially during overtaking, thereby substantially increasing the probability of avoidable road traffic collisions,” he said.
Bakare-Oki stressed that overloading is a grave violation of Lagos traffic regulations, likening it to a ticking time bomb that endangers not just the driver and passengers but every other road user.
He reiterated the agency’s zero-tolerance posture on traffic violations that threaten lives and property, warning that enforcement would neither slow down nor soften.
“LASTMA urges all motorists to adhere strictly to stipulated loading capacities, maintain unobstructed visibility at all times and prioritise roadworthiness and safety in their daily operations.
“The agency remains resolute in the execution of its statutory mandate to enforce traffic laws professionally, equitably and without prejudice in furtherance of the Lagos state government’s unwavering commitment to a safe, orderly and efficient transportation system across the state,” he said.
