Lagos Traffic Law: Curbing Recklessness On Roads

For too long, the recklessness exhibited by motorists and okada riders has been the major cause of  traffic gridlock and accidents on roads in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria. It is common to see motorists driving and at the same time making calls, eating and smoking. In most cases, the result is avoidable accident.

Also, several motorists and okada riders violate traffic laws at will— drive against traffic anytime there is mild traffic hold-up. Several Lagosians have been sent to their early grave as a result of driving against traffic. The painful thing about this is that some of the violators of road traffic rules normally escape the scene immediately such incident occurs.

With the signing into law of the Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012, by Governor Babatunde Fashola last week, the government is set to ensure road traffic compliance. The law is laying more emphasis on compliance to road safety guidelines rather than the monetary gains or imprisonment, being some of the penalties for offenders. It aims at deepening the culture of public safety.

The new road traffic law abrogated the 2003 Road Traffic Law Cap. R10 Vol. 17 Law of Lagos State. It contains some innovative clauses, which Fashola observed, were brought into the legal regime first to ensure public safety within the state and second to boost the Lagos mega city status.

Section 36 (3) of the law states: “In sentencing a person convicted of committing an offence, the court may, in addition to or in lieu of the prescribed sentence, direct suspension or revocation of the driver’s licence and direct the person convicted to render community service,” thereby setting a tone for deterrence and voluntary compliance.

The section is not complete in itself. It is only operational under Section 347 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (2011), which sets definite circumstances and conditions by which any court of competent jurisdiction could order a person convicted of certain offences to render community service.

Also, the court, under the same section, could direct a person convicted of committing an offence to enrol for and attend courses at the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute, LASDRI for a period not less than seven days at his cost. But only at the discretion of the presiding magistrate, such a person may be sentenced to both community service and enrolment in the drivers’ institute.

According to Fashola, the law is all about the safety and benefit of Lagos residents as it was not meant “to send anybody to jail. A jail sentence will be an extreme case, especially when the presiding magistrate has identified an offender to be hardened or such an offender has been committing a particular offence over and over again.

“Unlike the provision of the old traffic law, the new law has made provisions not only for payment of fines, but for convicted offenders to engage in community service such as directing traffic for a specified period among others. The objective of the new law is to get people to comply rather than getting them arrested or apprehended. There is nothing spectacular about the provisions in the new law that is not applicable in distant locations.

“So, the popularity of the law is very evident. Everybody should comply. For anyone who is convicted, he will either undergo compulsory training at the drivers’ Institute or community service by managing traffic. Traffic management is a reality of the country’s large population and community status. That is why we have also introduced a traffic radio to provide advance information to residents on how they plan their route,” he said.

Fashola said his government was committed to addressing transportation challenges in the state, saying that the law which took about 18 months to prepare would complement government efforts in providing adequate road signs, traffic lights as well as a traffic radio.

Urging motorists to see the law as a means to change the state for the better, he said the success of the law would be defined more by the voluntary compliance of motorists and road users rather than in the number of arrests traffic management officers make on a daily basis.

“There are rules that operate in many cities that compare with this state, we have been to many of these cities and we comply, why is it difficult to comply at home? Our lives will be better if we comply with this law”.

“Some of us have some parts of the law that we like and some parts that we don’t like. That sits well with me, maybe not all of us. The deputy governor and I are the only ones that have immunity from arrest, but we would subject ourselves to the law because no one will be above this law.

“Those who are ready to live with the realities and the complexities of our state are welcome and those who can’t should stay away. Those that drive against traffic when we queue are cheating us and we will not allow such to happen again. If we cannot reclaim back our sane society for the coming generation, I think we have failed,” he stated.

Fashola lamented the increase in road accidents occasioned by okada riders, saying that 722 cases of accidents on okada were recorded at the State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, from January to July 2012. “Out of this number, 568 were male and 154 were female. At the accident and emergency centre at Toll Gate, 252 accidents were recorded from January to July out of which 35 persons died. 50 percent of the victims were okada riders, 27 percent were passengers on okada while 23 percent were passerby,” he said.

Fashola charged traffic management agencies in the state to ensure motorists comply with the law, saying that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the purpose of the law was achieved, while also warning public officials to comply with the law as there will be no sacred cows.

“Can we then pretend that we do not know about this and then we do not act? This is our response and we hope it will bring success. We are all joined at the hip to reclaim our society back,” he stated.

The new traffic law intends to correct several anomalies in the transportation sector in the state. Rather than making motorists to pay fine, it wants to instil discipline in the road users and make them conscious of the rights and existence of other road users.

Under Section 1 of the new law, there is the prohibition of the use of any specified road by vehicles of specified class; regulates the conduct of persons driving, propelling, being in charge of, or riding any vehicle or animal on a highway and restricts the use of sirens as well as the sounding of horns or other similar appliances either in general or during specified period.

Sub-section 2 and 4 gives power to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA officers “to arrest where appropriate and allow alleged offenders fine stipulated for the offence committed and prosecute any persons reasonably suspected of having committed any offences under the provisions of the law”. But LASTMA’s power to prosecute any suspect is subject to the provisions of the Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution.

More so, Section 3 also prohibits any person from riding, driving or manually propelling a cart, wheel barrow, motorcycle and tricycle from no fewer than 11 highways, 41 bridges and 475 routes, which are all stated under the Schedule II of the new traffic law. As contained in the schedule, these categories of vehicles are restricted from plying any route in Eti-Osa Local Government, which covers Victoria Island, Lagos Island as well as Ikoyi.

Under subsection 4, commercial motorcycle riders are expected not to carry more than one passenger at a time. Aside, the subsection also states that a pregnant woman, a child below twelve years and an adult with a baby or heavy load placed on her head or which obstruct normal sitting shall not be carried as a passenger, an act which the author of the law, believes can cause untold suffering and multiple loss.

If any operator fails to comply with these provisions, sub-section 5 therefore spells out stiff penalties ranging from serving a three-year imprisonment or rendering community service in accordance with Section 347 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State or the offender might have his vehicle forfeited to the state government, but an award of such penalties will be at the discretion of a presiding magistrate.

Schedule I of the new law gives a wide range of traffic offences, including smoking while driving, making or receiving calls while driving and counting money or otherwise engaged in other activities while driving are now prohibited. As interpreted, other activities relate to any form of action that precludes drivers from operating with two hands.

Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, said the law had come to stay and that it was meant to sanitise the system. He cited instances where human heads were broken due to reckless operations of commercial motorcycle riders; traffic gridlock created as a result of lawless driving of many motorists and diverse cases of armed attacks on unsuspected residents. He stated that these necessitated the enactment of the law to avoid a situation whereby the residents were used to such gory scenes and become hardened.

Ipaye said the state government would carry out a comprehensive programme to sensitise the public to ensure that people did not fall victims of the law on the excuse of ignorance, adding that enforcement of the law would not take effect immediately, until it was gazetted and then circulated to all stakeholders concerned to ensure they have access to the gazette.

“It is only then that real enforcement will begin. As at now, the police and even LASTMA do not have a copy, even if we make photocopies, we still need to ensure we carry out enough sensitisation,” he said.

Ipaye said the law was enacted to enhance public safety and order by regulating motorists’ activities and conduct on the state road networks.

Chairman, Motorcycle Operators’ Association of Lagos State, MOALS, Mr. Tijani Perkins, observed that the new traffic law might create more social problems than it intends “to solve originally.”

In 2010, Perkins said it was agreed that okada operators would not ply all bridges and highways across the state. He expressed dismay at the enactment of the new traffic law, which he said, was designed “to disengage all okada operators from business. It is unfair to restrict our operations to Truck C and D roads. This is unacceptable to us. On the 2010 agreement, we stand. We also have rights under the 1999 Constitution and shall exercise them.”

He explained how socio-economic challenges brought thousands of his colleagues “to eke a living from okada operations.” He faulted government’s decision “to disengage them without providing sources of earning, especially in the era of depressed economy.”

He added that the bodies of okada operators would not take the matter “to the court of competent jurisdiction until the law is gazetted and its enforcement equally takes off.”

—Kazeem Ugbodaga