Fashola threatens to bar articulated vehicles on roads

Governor Babatunde Fashola

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola says he will not hesitate to stop operators of articulated vehicles from operating on roads in the state if the government does not get the desired cooperation from them.

A statement on Tuesday said Fashola spoke during a meeting with the leadership of the state branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in the Lagos House, Ikeja.

The meeting was convened to find ways of ensuring security and safety in terms of activities of the transporters at motor parks and on roads in the state.

The governor said the meeting became necessary after security agencies recommended some measures to end accidents and deaths on state roads.

He said, “While it is the primary responsibility of government to ensure the protection of life and property, it also requires the support of the populace to make the state safe and accident-free for the people.

“The careless manner at which operators of articulated vehicles are operating the vehicles gives cause for concern. Many people have been killed while roads have been shut down without any justifiable reason because of this carelessness.

“The present administration in Lagos is committed to the preservation of the life of the people and if it does not get the desired cooperation from the operators, it will not hesitate to stop them from operating on the roads in the state.”

Fashola insisted that the operators of the articulated vehicles could do their business with a human face instead of creating inconveniences on the roads.

He explained that containers should not ordinarily fall off the trucks because they usually come with bolts and fasteners to hold them in place.

He said despite the state traffic law which prescribed that articulated vehicles could only ply the road at specific times of the day, drivers of the vehicles still drove recklessly at the late hours.

Fashola said it would be a thing of joy if the state could observe a day free of accident through careful driving by those that plied the roads.

The meeting was attended by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye; Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa; the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Tunde Sobulo; Chairman of the NURTW, Mr. Tajudeen Agbede, among others.