An accident scene
The Federal Road Safety Commission has said that no fewer than 20 persons have been killed in auto crashes along the Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin Expressway in the past four weeks.
The FRSC said the crashes were usually caused by inter-state commercial bus drivers, who were in the habit of driving against the traffic (one-way), around the Ijebu-Itele area of the expressway.
The Ijebu Ode FRSC RS2.21 Unit Commander, Isa Seidu, who said this on Sunday, expressed worry over the recklessness of the commercial bus drivers along the route.
According to Seidu, several other persons were also injured in the crashes. He said the drivers had, by their care-free attitude, sent innocent persons to untimely graves.
He added that the reckless driving by the luxury bus drivers was usually perpetrated at night when FRSC officials must have left the highway.
“Last Monday, around 4.15am, an accident occurred involving a Toyota Hiace bus with number plate, EPE 304 XB, which drove against the traffic. It had a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle.
“The culprit was heading from Lagos to the eastern part of the country and faced those coming from Ore area at the Ijebu-Itele end of the expressway. The accident resulted in the death of five occupants of the vehicle, while six persons were critically injured,” he said.
Seidu added that the command had deployed plain clothes officers along the expressway to arrest erring motorists.
He said, “Driving against the traffic is totally unacceptable to us and we cannot continue like this.
“Anyone found guilty shall be arrested and taken to the court.
“The fact that a portion of the road is bad is not enough reason to take one-way. The bad road itself doesn’t cause accident but bad driving habit.”
The unit commander added that all the transport owners whose vehicles ply the road have been warned to caution their drivers.
He also advised travellers to avoid night journey.
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