Lagos State Govt To Restrict Danfo Drivers To 8 Hrs Of Work

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.