Fashola signs Lagos Road Traffic Bill into law

Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Thursday in Ikeja signed the Lagos State Road Traffic Bill into law.

The governor assented to the bill at a ceremony attended by members of the executive council, top officials of the police and those of other traffic management agencies.

Lagos State Governor, Fashola

Fashola said the new law was a holistic review of the state’s traffic law of 2003, adding that it was designed to ensure safety on the roads.

He said that the growth of Lagos into a mega city with large migration into the state had resulted in traffic congestion, saying that the new law was one of government`s strategies to manage the situation.

“This new law is also the state government`s intervention to the alarming statistics of road accidents, especially those caused by reckless driving and activities of commercial motorcyclists.

“From records at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), 722 accidents were reported, comprising 568 males and 154 females between Januaryt  and July this year.

“At our Toll Gate Trauma Centre, 254 accidents, which resulted in 35 deaths, were recorded during the same period. Fifty per cent of the cases were caused by okada riders, 27 per cent of the victims were passengers and 23 per cent pedestrians.

“These are alarming figures and we cannot afford to allow this to continue, hence our intervention with this law. “ he said.

Fashola sought residents’ voluntary compliance with the law, emphasising its real objective was to improve the traffic situation rather than putting people in jail.

He pledged that his government would strictly implement the law, assuring that offenders would be given fair hearing and would be accorded the right to defend themselves during prosecution.

Mr Ade Ipaye, Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, said the law sought to promote the life expectancy of residents as it would significantly reduce congestion.

Ipaye added that the law would address the safety and security issues associated with operations of commercial motorcyclists and illegal use of vehicles in the state.

He said the law would not be implemented immediately, adding that a lot of public enlightenment would be carried out while copies distributed to residents.

The new law clearly spelt’s out what now constituted traffic offences in the state, as well as the penalty each attracted.

According to the document, trailers, with the exemption of fuel tankers and long passenger trucks are now prohibited from entering into or travelling within the metropolis from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Violators risk impoundment of their vehicles and payment of N50,000 fine or six months imprisonment.

Another salient provision of the law is the prohibition of eating, counting money, making phone calls and engaging in other dangerous activities while driving, prescribing a fine of N30,000 for violators.

Other highlights included the ban on operations of commercial motorcycles and tricycles on major bridges, Ikorodu Road, Funsho Williams Avenue, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos-Badagry Expressway and Lekki-Epe Expressway.

It also compelled commercial bus drivers and their conductors to wear identification tags while property owners are also compelled to report cases of abandoned vehicles in their vicinity or risk punishment.

Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) are empowered to administer breathylizers on drivers to detect their drunkenness while owners of commercial vehicles are compelled to obtain operating licences from government. (NAN)