The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has intensified its traffic advocacy campaign in the Ikeja axis by engaging transportation unions and other stakeholders to promote voluntary compliance with traffic regulations, responsible road use and improved traffic management.
During the engagement, LASTMA officials sensitised transport union leaders and members on disciplined driving, proper loading and offloading, responsible parking and other practices that contribute to congestion and endanger road users. Commercial drivers were particularly advised to avoid indiscriminate parking, illegal U-turns, obstruction of traffic lanes, reckless overtaking, picking up or dropping passengers at unauthorised locations, and driving against traffic.
The engagement also provided an avenue for LASTMA to listen to operational challenges faced by transport operators and clarify traffic regulations, enforcement procedures and channels for resolving traffic-related complaints. LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, stressed that sustainable traffic management requires more than enforcement, highlighting the importance of continuous advocacy, consultation and collaboration with transport stakeholders.
Bakare-Oki described transportation unions as strategic partners in promoting traffic discipline among commercial drivers and urged union leaders to regularly sensitise their members on traffic violations and their wider impact on motorists and other road users. He emphasised that LASTMA’s goal is not only to enforce compliance but to encourage understanding, responsibility and voluntary adherence to traffic laws.
The agency further appealed to transport operators, motorists and other road users to see traffic regulations as measures aimed at protecting lives, preventing avoidable crashes and ensuring the smooth movement of people and goods across Lagos. The Ikeja engagement is part of LASTMA’s renewed efforts to strengthen grassroots traffic advocacy and collaboration with key stakeholders in managing the state’s increasingly complex road network.