Lagos-Ibadan road: FRSC tackles frequent crashes on Otedola, Kara bridge

Federal Road Safety Corps has discovered major causes of the recurring accidents on the Kara, Otedola bridges.

Lagos State Sector Commander of the corps, Olusegun Ogungbemide, attributed the frequent clashes to the topography of the road and the attitude of truck drivers.

He said this was the outcome of his investigation based on his concern about the situation and how to frontally address it.

Ogungbemide stated this recently when officials of the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) paid him a courtesy visit in his Ojodu office.

It would be recalled that in recent times that portion of the Kara bridge on the Lagos-Sagamu leg of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has witnessed a lot of road traffic crashes, the latest being the November 7 crash that killed two persons and claimed over 30 vehicles.

According to the sector commander, the rough road shortly after the smooth portion on the road before the Kara bridge is a major cause of the crashes on that axis.

He however added that the construction company on that corridor, Julius Berger, was contacted and had effected emergency palliatives on the road section after consultations with the FRSC.

He also observed that trucks carrying more than their capacity had been the ones vulnerable and liable to crash on the Otedola bridge.

The FRSC commander also advocated the restriction of the movement of heavy-duty trucks into Lagos during peak periods, as it would reduce the possibility of large scale casualties in case of a crash.

According to him, law enforcement officers including FRSC officers regularly monitor the loading activities of the fuel tanker operators at loading points to ensure compliance with loading capacity.

He explained that the attitude of drivers remained the biggest challenge faced by road traffic law enforcement officers in the state, adding that his men are back on the road with focus on rescue and traffic control.

He also mentioned that the rate of incessant crashes and fatalities along Lagos-Ibadan expressway had reduced as the FRSC was now concentrating on the corridors due to the synergy with other agencies such as LASTMA, LASEMA and Vehicle Inspection Service.

He lamented the loss incurred by the FRSC during the EndSARS protests.

“We lost 17 vehicles in different formations in the state, our offices were vandalized and laptops, gadgets carted away,” he said.