The Lagos State Government says it is considering implementing logistic routes for trucks and articulated vehicles, as specified in the State Transport Master plan.
State Commissioner for Transportation Frederic Oladeinde, who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting at Alausa Ikeja, said the move is as a result of the recurring truck accidents in the State, which resulted in the loss of lives and property.
He noted that to curb incessant truck accidents within the State, there is a need to chart robust strategies that will checkmate frequent truck accidents.
He stressed that a combination of different policies, which include erecting truck barriers, compliance with minimum safety standard, and restricting the movement of articulated vehicles to designated routes will go a long way in curbing truck accidents in the State.
Explaining the proposed logistic routes for trucks and articulated vehicles, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola, noted that the State Government is considering implementing the use of designated routes for articulated vehicles, as one of the strategies to checkmate the operations and activities of trucks plying the State roads.
Emphasizing that safety and security of Lagosians remain paramount to the present administration, Toriola averred that the State Government does not want to take unilateral decisions, hence the need for the stakeholders’ engagement with relevant unions before taking necessary steps.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed that the Ministry is reviewing the Minimum Safety Standard Procedure for trucks and articulated vehicles being implemented by the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA, with a view to modifying it by including the Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, and Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, officials in the inspection process.
Toriola also expressed the State Government’s willingness to collaborate with relevant truck operators to ensure that drivers manning the steering of trucks are well-trained and only qualified drivers are allowed to drive the trucks/articulated vehicles within the State.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, noted that the stakeholders’ meeting was very germane because of the precious lives that are being lost daily due to negligence on the part of drivers and truck owners, saying as a responsive and proactive government, it will no longer condone unabated truck accidents resulting in the killing of innocent citizens.
He further stated that the collaboration of the State Government and Truck Unions operating in Lagos will go a long way to ensure the desired sanity on our roads is achieved with the full supports of the Police and the State’s Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Representative of the Council of Maritime Transport Union and Association, COMTUA, Mr. Adeyinka Aroyewun called for genuineness and clarity of purpose by both parties in achieving the desired results.
Also, Chief Remi Ogungbemi of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, urged the State Government to checkmate the activities of the area boys who have constituted themselves as a threat to the lives of its members.
The event’s high point was the agreement by all stakeholders to work with the State Government to ameliorate the menace of trucks and articulated vehicles in the State.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA; Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association, DAPPMAN; Council Of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations, COMTUA; Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN; Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO; Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO; National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG; Amalgamation of Truck Owners Association of Nigeria, ACTOAN; representatives of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, as well as Vehicle Inspection Services, VIS.