Lagos warns motorists against ember months recklessness

The Lagos State Safety Commission has warned motorists and commercial drivers against reckless driving during the ember months.

The Director-General of the commission, Lanre Mojola, represented by the Technical Adviser, Seun Awojobi, gave the warning during a road walk through Ikorodu Garage and its environs on Tuesday as part of activities for the 2026 Lagos Road Safety Week.

In a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, Mojola said the campaign was designed to take safety messages directly to road users and discourage behaviour that puts lives and property at risk.

From Ikorodu Garage, Mojola said the campaign would be extended to Oshodi and Lagos Island.

He said the campaign was imperative because of the tendency for road crashes during the ember months, when travel increases

He said, “The campaign seeks to encourage road users to demonstrate patience, exercise restraint and observe safety precautions in their daily activities, especially during periods when increased travel and traffic pressure may heighten the risk of road accidents.”

Mojola said the government’s emphasis on road safety informed the commission’s decision to take the awareness drive to busy transport interchanges, where motorists, commercial drivers and commuters converge daily.

He urged residents to remain vigilant throughout the ember months, stressing that preventing crashes required the cooperation of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and transport operators.

“Road safety should not be treated as a seasonal concern but as a continuous commitment to protecting human lives and preventing incidents that could have devastating consequences for families and communities,” he said.

Also speaking, the Head of Operations, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Sector Command, Fekoya Emma, who represented the sector commander, called for strict compliance with traffic regulations and greater caution on the roads.

She said many road risks could be reduced if motorists deliberately avoided conduct that endangered other road users.

Emma said Ikorodu Garage was selected as the starting point because major transport hubs offered an opportunity to reach large numbers of commercial drivers and commuters directly.

She disclosed that the sensitisation campaign would move to Oshodi and Lagos Island to broaden public awareness and encourage safer road practices across the state.

Earlier, the Director of Safety Audit 2 at the commission, Todowede Festus, said the agency’s mandate included protecting lives and property through safety promotion, public education and preventive measures.

Festus said the road walk was organised to reinforce the message that preventing accidents required sustained public education and personal responsibility from all road users.

The campaign comes as the commission seeks to spread road safety messages across Lagos’s busy transport corridors, with officials urging motorists to exercise patience and obey traffic rules rather than treat safe driving as an occasional obligation.