The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Badagry Unit Command says it intercepted and impounded no fewer than 40 vehicles for non-compliance with the use of speed-limiting devices along the Agbara Badagry Expressway in the last two months.
Mr Williams Manga, the Unit Commander, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said the drivers of the intercepted vehicles were fined and then compelled to install the device before their vehicles were released to them.
Manga said the enforcement of the use of speed limiters was one of the measures being taken by the corps to reduce accidents on the expressway.
“Between June and July, we intercepted 40 vehicles and asked their owners to install limiters before we handed the vehicles over to them. The enforcement of the use of speed limiters is one of the measures we are taking to check rising cases of accidents on the Lagos -Badagry Expressway, especially between the Age-Mowo and Mowo stretch of the road.
“Our personnel work from 6.00.a.m. to 6.00.p.m. daily on the expressway to carry out enforcement, and to ensure road crashes are reduced to a minimal level.“ he said.
Manga advised motorists, especially commercial bus drivers, against exceeding the approved speed limit, saying speeding was one of the major causes of accidents on the expressway.
He also urged passengers to always caution their drivers on high speed while travelling on the expressway, saying doing so would reduce cases of accidents.
The Unit Commander warned against night driving, saying the practice was fraught with danger.
“Some motorists don’t know how to drive at night, This road is not wide and when you put on your full light, it could affect the coming vehicle and result in an accident.
“The contractor handling the project just constructed a lane and left the other undone, so vehicles coming to Lagos and those going to Badagry use just one lane and this has resulted in many accidents along the Agbara Badagry expressway,” he said.
The Unit Commander said the corps had been engaging commercial bus drivers and transport unions on how to drive safely on the expressway.
“We meet with leaders and members of National Union Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Seme border, whose vehicles mostly take the expressway, on safe driving.
“We always tell the drivers to slow down when they are around to Age-Mowo area because that area is prone to accidents.
“We also meet with other stakeholders and advise them to always make use of their speed limiter.
“Every morning before six o’clock, our personnel visit parks and garages to give them what we call ‘Early Morning Cry’.
”We gather passengers and drivers t and talk to them about the risk of speeding, dangers associated with overloading and the importance of speed limiting devices in their vehicles.We are doing all these to check crashes on that expressway” he said.
NAN reports that the Age-Mowo part of the Lagos Badagry expressway has recorded a number of fatal accidents since construction work started on the highway in 2020.
On March 9, 2022, five people were burnt beyond recognition while three others sustained injuries in a fatal accident around the Age-Mowo part of the expressway.
Also On June 17, 2022, two members of the same family were burnt to death in an accident around the same portion of the expressway.
On July 9,this year, 15 persons, including a four-month-old baby, who were travelling to the Republic of Benin on a commercial bus with registration number MUS 411 XU carrying 19 passengers, died in an auto accident at the same Age-Mowo portion of the expressway.
(NAN)
