[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos state government has expressed its apprehension over an upsurge in the number of trailers/tankers accidents in the state in the last three months.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, state information commissioner, Gbenga Omotoso expressed its resolve to prevent frequent loss of lives.
“We will continue to encourage people to do business in Lagos, but we will not allow the lives of Lagosians and visitors to be put at risk. Lagos State will not tolerate the recklessness of truck drivers when transporting goods on our roads. The Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) is to step up its activities in the government’s bid to stop such accidents involving trucks and others. “he declared.
He declared that, ” the government is also curious about the persistence of tanker accidents at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the resultant gridlock that trails the incidents, spiralling through the entire Ikeja axis of the State and traumatising motorists and commuters. ”
Omotoso recalled that on Tuesday, two incidents, one involving a tanker that fell and exploded in flames on Kara Bridge on the outskirts of Lagos and the other involving a heavy-duty truck carrying farm products around Magboro, left motorists and commuters stranded on the Expressway till the early hours of Wednesday.
The Government he said, sympathises with Lagosians on the discomfort resulting from the attitude of careless and reckless drivers travelling from the outskirts into Lagos.
He however said that the state government,” will continue to engage the Ogun State Government as well as Federal Government agencies to identify the cause of the recurring Lagos-Ibadan Expressway accidents and fashion out solutions.” He disclosed that the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has been mandated to continue its support for Ogun State and Federal Government traffic and emergency management agencies by providing evacuation expertise and equipment for quick removal of vehicles involved in crashes on the Expressway.
According to him,”the Lagos State Government will commission an inquiry to ascertain that the accidents involving tankers and articulated vehicles, which seem to have developed a consistent pattern, are not deliberate acts of carnage.
Such accidents have consistently happened midweek, specifically on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving traffic tailing onto the Third Mainland Bridge, Agidingbi, Ikeja and even Oregun, in many instances.The Vehicle Inspection Service will step up its services to prevent issuance of Road Worthiness Certificates to undeserving vehicles, particularly trucks that are not fit to ply our roads.”
He remarked that while the Lagos State Government acknowledges the hardship caused by the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by the Federal Government, made more unbearable by the crude attitude of some articulated vehicle drivers, it will continue to engage stakeholders at all levels to explore ways of addressing the thorny issues until an enduring solution is found to the menace of truck and tanker accidents on our highways.