BRT drivers need proper reorientation-stakeholders

***Are BRT tragedy, looking for where to happen?

By allcitynews.ng

Stakeholders have called on Lagos State Government to give proper reorientation to BRT Bus drivers in apparent bid to protect lives of innocent passengers and other road users.

The call became imperative following the recent accidents involving Bus Rapid Transit [BRT] Bus and other road users, and the reckless driving that took place on Tuesday, 18 April 2023.

The purpose of this piece is to draw attention of management of BRT Bus to go back to the boardroom for reorientation of their drivers [pilots as they liked to be called].

Riding in one of the buses on Tuesday 18 April 2023, 12.05pm to be precise, from Berger end [Lagos-Ibadan] Expressroad to Tafawa Balewa Square [TBS] showed that most of the drivers need to be tutored on safety of both self and other road users.

Even while on Third Mainland Bridge, the driver overtook almost all vehicles at its front.

The driver that drove as if it was a crime to see other vehicles at his front, threw caution to the wind and made frantic efforts to overtake all vehicles.

Most passengers embarked on prayer while shouting and cautioning the driver who was at the verge of the rails from the lagoon.

Passengers, mostly women started appealing to the driver: “we are very close to the lagoon, we have families waiting for us at home, stop reckless overspeeding.”

Then a day after, LEADERSHIP Newspaper on 20 April 2023, written by George Okojie, carried a story on “Driver Dies, BRT Bus Set Ablaze In Lagos.

According to the report: a driver of a painted commercial bus yesterday died when his bus had a head on collision with another bus belonging to the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at Ifako in Ogudu area of the state.

It was gathered that the driver of the commercial bus, which somersaulted twice, died instantly as a result of loss of control due to over speeding.

The director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, who confirmed the accident, said operatives of LASTMA rescued seven passengers with various degrees of injuries .

Adebayo said preliminary investigation revealed that the fully loaded commercial bus was coming from Lagos Island to Ogudu when the accident occurred.

He said, “LASTMA has carried out a series of enlightenment campaigns warning motorists particularly commercial bus drivers to stop over speeding and adhere strictly to speed limit signs erected by the government across the state”.

As emergency responders including Traffic Police Officers supported Officials of LASTMA at the accident scene, some hoodlums who heard of the death of the commercial driver whose body was lying beside the upturned commercial bus set ablaze the bus belonging to the Lagos State Bus Service Limited.

Meanwhile, the general manager of LASTMA, Mr. Bolaji Oreagba has warned members of the public particularly street urchins not to take laws into their hands at any accident scene but to allow appropriate authorities to handle the situation.

Three years after: has graduate drivers improved performance?

It would be recalled that Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, 2019, in apparent bid to add more dignity & honour to the work of conveying people, decided to employ university graduates on salary N100,000 as driver for betterment of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus and to prune reckless driving.

Rather, most of the graduate drivers, who probably for lack of better alternative work, accepted the driving, have become more reckless in their work, since then, most of them are more reckless than other drivers with ugly happenings involving these set of drivers.