The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) impounded 27 commercial buses for violating loading regulations and persistently failing to comply with road safety standards across the state’s road network.
This happened during an early-morning, coordinated enforcement exercise conducted after repeated warnings issued through multiple public sensitisation platforms, as both commercial and private vehicles found to be in flagrant breach of prescribed loading limits and established safety standards were seized.
According to a statement by the authority, on Thursday, the operation was executed in strict accordance with the directive of Olalekan Bakare-Oki, general manager of LASTMA, following heightened concerns over the escalating risks posed by overloaded vehicles on major arterial corridors and densely trafficked inner-city routes.
This operation formed part of the authorities’ far-reaching statewide enforcement initiative aimed at curbing the pervasive and hazardous practice of vehicular overloading, as part of its sustained commitment to enhancing road safety and enforcing uncompromising compliance with extant traffic regulations across the state.
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LASTMA enforcement Officers field assessment exposed a deeply disconcerting pattern wherein motorists, particularly operators of commercial vehicles, burden their vehicles with assorted goods, including bulky items and perishable commodities, stored indiscriminately within luggage compartments and mounted on vehicle roofs.
“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,” the statement read.
Bakare-Oki emphasised that vehicular overloading constitutes a serious contravention of the state’s traffic laws, posing grave dangers not only to the occupants of the offending vehicles but also to other road users.
Describing the scenario as ‘an unsightly and perilous spectacle,’ he decried the rampant overloading of commercial buses, private cars, and even articulated vehicles with goods and scrap metals in blatant disregard for public safety.
He reaffirmed the authority’s zero-tolerance stance against all traffic infractions that imperil lives and property, warning that enforcement actions against defaulters will remain sustained, intensified, and unequivocally uncompromising.
He further urged all motorists to adhere strictly to stipulated loading capacities, maintain unobstructed visibility at all times, and prioritise roadworthiness and safety in their daily operations.
“The agency remains resolute in the execution of its statutory mandate to enforce traffic laws professionally, equitably, and without prejudice in furtherance of the Lagos State Government’s unwavering commitment to a safe, orderly, and efficient transportation system across the State.
“Members of the general public, particularly motorists, are hereby urged to promptly report any commercial or private vehicles found to violate prescribed loading limits via the LASTMA toll-free hotline to enable swift enforcement and immediate corrective action,” Bakare-Oki said.
