Lagos records 13,398 road accidents, 148 Okada deaths

Lagos State government, yesterday, said no fewer than 13,398 road accidents, involving vehicles and commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada, were recorded in the last 15 months in the state, with 148 deaths from Okada-related accidents.

The government, however, vowed to commence aggressive enforcement of road traffic laws, saying “the level of disobedience of the law has begun to increase across the state since January 2013.”

Commissioners for Transportation, Health and Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, Dr. Jide Idris and Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, respectively, spoke at an inter-ministerial briefing at Alausa, Ikeja.

According to Idris, the data were gathered from the ministry periodic survey in various public health institutions within the state, saying “13,398 road traffic accidents were recorded in the state from January, 2012 to March 2013.

“While vehicles accident were 7,267, Okada recorded 6,131 in the last 15 months. For Okada, the peak was in February 2012 and August 2012. In August, we recorded 646 Okada accidents, while in February, 696.

“Since August, we have experienced a steady decline in the number of road traffic accidents. In March, it has declined to 126 due to the introduction of the road traffic law in August last year.

“From January 2012 to March 2013, we recorded 148 deaths from Okada-related accidents.”

In 2013, we recorded four deaths and these occurred on roads that weren’t included in the 475 roads where Okada operations were outlawed.”




-- Vanguard