As arguments and
counter-arguments on the new Lagos road traffic law continue,
a dimension to the state’s effort at bringing sanity to public life in Nigeria’s commercial city may yet
be introduced.
CityFile learnt that the
government is nursing the idea of outlawing smoking in public places in
addition to the recent criminalisation of smoking, eating, drinking and making
of phone calls while driving as contained in the new traffic law. Should the state
government pushes this through, smoking in such places as schools, parks,
beaches, motor parks, airports, markets among others will become illegal.
Ade Ipaye, commissioner for
Justice and Attorney General of the state, gave an indication to this effect,
saying while the provisions of the traffic law prohibit people from drinking or
smoking while driving, it was a prelude to the eventual ban of smoking in
public places.
“It is an offence to smoke
while driving, smoking is totally prohibited for drivers; obviously it is not
just for safety reasons it is also for health reasons because we are moving
towards banning smoking in all public places,” Ipaye told NAN. According to
him, “It is an offence to drive drunk if you have been taking alcohol. If
you’ve been taking drugs, this law provides for blood test to determine whether
you have ingested drugs which are inconsistent with your ability to drive.
“So, this law makes it an
offence to drive without a driver’s license, without proper plate numbers. It
is an offence to use the phone while you are driving except you have hands free
set so you don’t need to put the set to your ear,” he said.
Clarifying the
misconceptions about the new traffic law, Ipaye said it “seeks to criminalise
traffic offences and sanction offenders, as part of strategy to bring under
control, the chaotic traffic situation within the metropolis.”
He added that the law was
necessitated by the dire need to ensure the safety, health and security of road
users. According to him, the traffic situation in the state is becoming
alarming, despite the ongoing repairs and construction of more roads.
“What necessitated the law
are concerns for safety of Lagosians, health of Lagosians, security of
Lagosians on our roads. This is because we notice that what is call go-slow
continue to get worse despite the fact that we are building more roads.
“We are keeping the roads in
good shape, but still, we have that problem, and that problem is made worse now
by commercial motorcycles, by cart pushers, by even people rearing cattle.
There seem all of a sudden to be no rules; people just disobey the traffic
lights. We are installing a lot of traffic lights too, but commercial
motorcyclists don’t even feel bound by those lights.”
He said that the law also
prohibited eating on the highway; foods that could make the driver lose
concentration. He explained that anything that could engage a driver’s hand,
such that it could make him a danger to other road users, was seriously
prohibited.
The commissioner pointed out
that the worse culprits were commercial bus drivers, who would go as far as
drinking alcohol while driving, adding that the state government would not
hasten to prosecute offenders until the people were thoroughly sensitised.
“By the time we are
satisfied that every individual is informed, we would send the enforcement
agents to commence enforcement.’’
(NAN)
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