LASTMA impounds 27 commercial buses over serious loading, safety violations in Lagos

Stanley Ihedigbo

Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has impounded 27 commercial buses for grave violations of loading regulations and persistent non-compliance with road safety standards across the Lagos road network.

The action, part of LASTMA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring traffic discipline and commuter safety, underscores the authority’s zero-tolerance policy for operators who flout transport and safety regulations.

According to the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, during an early-morning, coordinated enforcement exercise conducted after repeated warnings issued through multiple public sensitization platforms, the Agency impounded 27 commercial and private vehicles found to be in flagrant breach of prescribed loading limits and established safety standards.

The operation was executed in strict accordance with the directive of the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, following heightened concerns over the escalating risks posed by overloaded vehicles on major arterial corridors and densely trafficked inner-city routes.

LASTMA enforcement Officers, field assessment exposed a deeply disconcerting pattern wherein motorists, particularly operators of commercial vehicles, indiscriminately burden their vehicles with assorted goods, including bulky items and perishable commodities, stored indiscriminately within luggage compartments and precariously mounted atop 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 General Manager of LASTMA 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 Agency’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.

LASTMA therefore urges 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: 0800-005-27862 to enable swift enforcement and immediate corrective action.