Motorists and commuters were held for over three hours yesterday following an early morning jam between Ovia Bridge and Okada Junction along the Lagos-Benin Motorway.
Many of those caught in the traffic were in articulated vehicles when our journalist reached the area, Channels TV says.
Many of the drivers reportedly left Benin early in the morning to ensure they reached their destinations on time.
Some vehicles had mechanical difficulties during the jam, and a collision along the highway further worsened the traffic situation.
The traffic jam was blamed on their impatient colleagues who indiscriminately parked their automobiles and slept on the side of the road instead of beginning their journey early.
They also pinpointed the Okada axis as an ongoing bottleneck of traffic, especially in a terrible stretch of the road near the Tipper Garage.
One of the drivers who gave his name as Akanni criticised the failure of several of his colleagues to obey the standards that regulate their trade.
“Imagine we have drivers parking on the side of the road, sleeping and not waking up in time to continue their journey, so contributing to the gridlock,” he stated.
Another driver, Chukwu, claimed he heard about the traffic backup at Ovia Bridge about 2am on Sunday and decided to sleep at a bypass close to Oluku.
He said he passed across the Ovia Bridge stretch without any hitch and was startled to find himself in another bottleneck.
According to Chukwu, the problem was a failure of the government and its authorities to police traffic restrictions especially the Federal Road Safety Corps.
He also urged on the Edo State administration to restore the bad portion of the road around Okada to allow free flowing of vehicles and pedestrians.
“It’s all government, government, government. “Their agencies should enforce the law, and the bad part of the road should also be repaired,” he continued.
But after three hours of trying to get out of the bottleneck, it was evident that impatience was also part of the problem with drivers going the other way to get around the traffic and blocking the highway even more.
Preye Bedford, the Edo State Sector Commander of the FRSC, said his men monitor the axis routinely to ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent gridlock.
He called on motorists to be patient and to observe the traffic rules.
“I don’t have my soldiers on that axis permanently, but I do send them to that spot every two days. The men around Ofosu and other places are always on standby in case of a breakdown of a vehicle in the neighbourhood.
“Normally, when we get the information of an accident or a vehicle breakdown along that axis, we send our men there to ensure that traffic flows. We don’t have anybody on permanent duty there for now. All I’m going to tell them is be patient and follow traffic rules,” Bedford said.
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