Lagos State Government has stated today that it sent about 2,612 drivers for psychiatric evaluations in 2008 for various traffic offences.

These numbers were given by the Commissioner for Transportation, Bamidele Badejo, at the inter-ministerial briefing today at the State Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

The offenders were subjected to the evaluations for dangerous driving, driving against traffic and other related offences.

Mr. Badejo said that majority of those tested at the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, were male motorists.

He added that 15,067 vehicles were apprehended by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority for driving in directions prohibited by the state traffic laws.

The commissioner claimed that most of the offenders were commercial bus operators [and] attributed the situation to impatience.

Analysing the figures, 6,246 of the 15,067 vehicles apprehended were private while 8,221 belonged to the commercial vehicle group.

Mr. Badejo said the mostly flouted traffic offences were those listed under the miscellaneous traffic offences, acts which posed the greatest danger to the lives of road users.

"They include driving in a direction prohibited by the road traffic law, illegal u-turns, wrong overtaking and unauthorised stoppage on highways," he said.

The commissioner noted that the disregard for traffic rule had resulted in 1,067 accidents, while 268 people lost their lives with 1,735 sustaining injuries in 2008.

"LASTMA sent 504 recalcitrant drivers to the classroom at its headquarters for re-training and re-education in 2008 because the agency realised that drivers needed more education and enlightenment for them to function better on the roads," he said.

The commissioner also said that the Vehicle Inspection Unit (VIU) sanctioned 67,776 vehicles during the same period and impounded 615 trailers which carried unlatched or unhooked containers.

"The VIO also arrested 82 drivers in their various homes after flouting traffic rule and ran away to escape justice, under its home arrest policy just introduced," he added.

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