The Lagos State government
has said it will begin enforcement of a section of the road traffic law which
restricts commuter bus drivers from driving for more than eight hours at a
stretch daily.
This was made known by the
Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, at a news conference
heralding the National Council on Transportation conference which kicked off on
Monday at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos.
The conference is entitled:
“Transformation of Transport Infrastructure: Catalyst for Socio-Economic
Growth.”
Opeifa made reference to
section 44 of the Road Traffic Law which bars commuter bus drivers from driving
for eight hours at a stretch, while also noting that the government would begin
enforcement of the new law in January 2014.
According to him, many
commuter bus drivers operating in Lagos State do not know that such a provision
exists in the traffic law, but he added that after all commercial bus drivers
must have been registered in the state, they could be monitored effectively to
ensure compliance with the eight hours work rule and other aspects of the
traffic law.
Opeifa warned that by
January next year, the government would not have mercy on any bus driver who
failed to register, as his vehicle would be impounded for breaching the traffic
law.
“With the development, no
driver would be allowed to drive beyond 8 hours at a stretch, while owners of
the commercial vehicles would be made to get insurance that will cover their
passengers,” he said.
“Commercial drivers and
their conductors would also begin to appear in registered uniform and badges
for proper identification by the public.
According to him, this
development is to sustain security and safety already established in the state
by the state traffic law. He also added that the accreditation of the owners of
the commuter buses was to ensure that all operators were captured in
government’s database with a view to curtailing atrocities and crimes committed
with the use of unregistered commercial vehicles.
“With these moves, we want
to curtail kidnapping, robberies and other forms of crimes perpetrated by the
continuous usage of unregistered vehicles for commercial purposes. We are out
to tackle the issue of ‘one chance’ headlong,” he stated.
“Also, the situation where
the drivers and their conductors dress shabbily would be checked with the
introduction uniform and badges for them. We are also re-introducing routine
system for them. They will only ply only route boldly written on their buses,”
he said.
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