Twenty-seven commercial buses and other vehicles have been impounded during an early-morning coordinated enforcement exercise in Lagos, following repeated public warnings by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority.
The impoundment came after the commencement of a statewide enforcement initiative aimed at curbing vehicular overloading, which the authority said has become a major safety concern on Lagos roads.
LASTMA said the exercise formed part of its sustained drive to enhance road safety and ensure strict compliance with traffic regulations across the state.
The operation was carried out on the directive of the agency’s General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, amid heightened concerns over the risks posed by overloaded vehicles on major highways and busy inner-city routes.
Spokesperson Taofik Adebayo said field assessments by enforcement officers revealed a disturbing pattern in which motorists, particularly commercial drivers, indiscriminately loaded their vehicles with assorted goods, including bulky items and perishable commodities, stored in luggage compartments and precariously mounted on rooftops.
He said: “Such unsafe practices grossly obstruct rearward visibility, destabilise vehicular balance and critically impair a driver’s situational awareness of approaching traffic, especially during overtaking manoeuvres, thereby substantially increasing the probability of avoidable road traffic collisions.”
Bakare-Oki said vehicular overloading constitutes a serious breach of Lagos traffic laws and poses grave danger not only to occupants of offending vehicles but also to other road users.
Describing the situation as an unsightly and perilous spectacle, he decried the widespread overloading of commercial buses, private cars and articulated vehicles with goods and scrap metals in blatant disregard for public safety.
He reaffirmed the agency’s zero-tolerance stance on traffic infractions that endanger lives and property, warning that enforcement actions against defaulters would remain sustained and intensified.
LASTMA urged motorists to comply strictly with stipulated loading limits, maintain clear visibility at all times and prioritise roadworthiness and safety in their daily operations.
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