Lagos State Government has concluded plans to start implementing the restriction of trucks and long vehicles to night operations on certain routes within the next 30 days.
Commissioner for Transport, Frederic Oladeinde, in a meeting with stakeholders on Wednesday, said the decision follows the heavy traffic gridlock and fatalities caused by these articulated vehicles on roads in the state.
The meeting consisted of stakeholders from the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Nigerian Ports Authority, Vehicle Inspection Service, Committee of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations amongst others.
Oladeinde announced that trucks and trailers were now restricted to night operations on dedicated routes between the hours of 9pm to 6am daily in order to avert rising carnage’s on roads during daytime.
At the meeting which was organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, the Commissioner said the development is part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s continuous efforts to curb consistent road crashes caused by the activities and operations of trucks and trailers on Lagos roads.
Oladeinde in his statement expressed that;
This is in line with the state government’s THEMES Agenda especially as it relates to Traffic Management and Transportation and the ease of doing business in the state. Restrictions of containerized trailers and trucks on our roads will now be from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am.
Containerized trailers are not allowed to travel during the day, it has to be at night time between 9 pm and 6 am. They have to abide by this timing in accordance with the Transportation Law, 2018.
He pointed out that the state in partnership with law enforcement agencies, the Department of Petroleum Resources and other critical stakeholders, will ensure the implementation of some of these strategies in a month’s time.
Oladeinde said the government had defined dedicated industrial and boundary routes for trucks and trailers.
He expressed;
There will be routes where trailers will be restricted. Trailers can no longer travel across the whole of Lagos, we will make sure that we provide the essential infrastructure. We must keep our roads safe.
The number of trailers that fell on our roads is very alarming. It is important that we protect the people of Lagos state and it is important that we protect their property.
Going further Oladeinde said the state government would enforce the maximum capacity of 45,000 litres as what tankers can lift from tank farms.
He stressed;
We have experienced a lot of tankers carrying 90, 000 liters and had to break down on the road. Any tanker that carries more than 45, 000 liters will be confiscated. We will also ensure sanctions on defaulters.
On his own part, a Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Abdul-Hafiz Toriola, explaining the kind of vehicle being banned from the road in daytime said;
We are referring to any vehicle that is more than six feet which must align by the instruction.
Toriola said such long vehicles from Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will ply Alapere-Ogudu-Gbagada-Oshodi Apapa Expressway to Apapa and follow the same route out of Lagos.
He explained that trucks and trailers were banned from plying Ojota, Maryland, Palmgroove, Fadeyi, and Western Avenue to Apapa.
For trailers coming through Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Toriola advised them to take a link at the Oshodi interchange to link Apapa expressway.
While trailers from the Lagos-Badagry Expressway were advised to take the Mile 2 interchange to link Apapa.
