The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority said Thursday it impounded 27 commercial and private vehicles during an early-morning enforcement drive aimed at stopping dangerous overloading on state roads.
The agency said the operation followed “heightened concerns over the escalating risks posed by overloaded vehicles on major arterial corridors and densely trafficked inner-city routes.”
LASTMA General Manager Olalekan Bakare-Oki said field teams found drivers loading “assorted goods, stored indiscriminately within luggage compartments and precariously mounted atop vehicle roofs,” a practice that “grossly obstruct[s] rearward visibility, destabilise[s] vehicular balance and critically impair[s] a driver’s situational awareness.”
He warned the unsafe practice raises the likelihood of “avoidable road traffic collisions,” and stressed the agency’s zero-tolerance approach.
“The agency remains resolute in the execution of its statutory mandate to enforce traffic laws professionally, equitably and without prejudice,” Bakare-Oki said, urging motorists to “adhere strictly to stipulated loading capacities” and prioritise roadworthiness.
LASTMA said the enforcement followed repeated public warnings and sensitisation campaigns and called on the public to report offenders via its toll-free line: 0800-005-27862.
The impoundment is part of a wider, sustained push to reduce crashes linked to overloaded vehicles on Lagos highways.
Officials said sanctions and vehicle recovery procedures will follow existing regulations as enforcement is “sustained, intensified and uncompromising.”
