Users of the Amuwo-Ago link road have called on Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola to urgently arrest the menace of articulated truck drivers who have turned the road into the latest death trap in the state, by indiscriminately parking on both sides of the road.The urgency of their concerns was aptly captured on Wednesday, September 7, 2014 when a Lexus SUV GX470, with special registration number BOILER, rammed into a truck attempting to make a U turn at the ICAN bus stop along the Amuwo end of the road The gruesome accident killed the driver of the SUV death and left the car in carcass.For those who summoned the courage to approach the scene of the accident it was a gory sight as flesh of the mangled SUV driver littered the scene of the accident. The accident happened between the hours of 10 to 11 pm.This reporter was lucky to have missed a near collusion with one of such trucks that had been wrongly parked with it’s tail portion dangerously occupying part of the road. Continue..
There was nothing to warn any on coming vehicle of any obstruction on the road. The truck drivers obstruct the roads and even the passage into some estates like the Greenfield Estate at Trinity Bus Stop. They even charge at residents who protest the blockage to their entrance into their Greenfield Estate. The situation is further worsened by the poor illumination of the Amuwo road, arising from the failure of the street light stretching from Apple Junction to the Amuwo-Ago link bridge.The 3.5km Ago-Okota end of the road which is at present under going construction work is not spared of the menace of the truck drivers who come to off load containers at the numerous bonded terminals that are fast springing up on the Amuwo Odofin- Ago-Okota link road from the FESTAC Town/ Mile2 axis.Mr. Olise Nwokolo said broken down vehicles are left on the road without any warning signs. The truck drivers behave as if they are above the law. They ram into luxury cars deliberately and turn round to challenge road users. They have caused many accidents in the area.
The poor condition has not helped matters as the residents of Green Field Estate last week protested against the new danger that the truck drivers have posed on the road.Mr. Kola Anuoluwa told Vanguard that the Amunota Filling Station end of the road has been turned into a parking lot for the trucks. And their parking extends to the road, causing danger to road users.He said: “Unless government takes urgent steps to address the situation now, we may be heading towards another chaotic situation like we now experience every day at Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and other industrial zones in Ikeja, Kirikiri, Surulere where the residents have been held hostage by these truck drivers.”The remorseless truck drivers were quick to blame the deceased driver who met his untimely death in their hands.. At the time of Vanguard visit to the scene of the crash, the truck drivers who gathered to watch the havoc that one of their members had caused were accusing the dead man of being a ritualist.It has become a fad in town to accuse everyone that owns expensive car to be a thief or ritual person who was caught by nemesis.“This is a culture of envy which must be halted,” Mr. Nwokolo said, adding “ those who have warehouses along the major transit points must make arrangement on how to park their trucks and such trucks must leave after they have discharged their wares instead of remaining on the roads and causing accidents.”
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