LASTMA records 256 casualties in six months

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has disclosed that it recorded 256 casualties on the roads across the state from January 2024 to June  2024.

 The LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed this in a statement made available to our correspondent on Sunday.

 Bakare-Oki said 256 casualties were recorded during the first half of the year while 9,370 vehicles, consisting of 3,034 private vehicles, 1,849 cars,  549 buses, and 636 Sports Utility Vehicles,  among others, were impounded for alleged traffic violations.

 “Two hundred and fifty-six casualties were recorded during this period. In the last six months, it has been a mix of the good, bad, and ugly, but we have managed to overcome many challenges, particularly in training and retraining our personnel.  We have successfully trained 2,000 of our staff members, both internally and externally,” he said.

 Bakare also spoke on the efforts of the agency in ensuring orderliness on roads by clearing vehicles parked indiscriminately to reduce congestion, as he emphasised the progress on the Apapa Port route.

“Apart from the Apapa corridor and Iyana-Ipaja, we also cleared areas like Idumota, Apogbon, CMS, and the Lekki-Ajah area, improving the level of orderliness in these areas. We have made significant strides across the  five divisions in Lagos in terms of enforcement, and this effort is  ongoing.”

“We are committed to improving travel time for Lagos residents, especially during peak periods,” he said.

Bakare also assured the Lagos motorists that LASTMA was committed to improving traffic management in the state as he revealed the deployment of over 2,000 pieces of equipment for traffic. He also urged motorists to respect traffic laws and the traffic officers, who are the enforcers.