Agency's boss, Chris Olakpe to restore Driver’s Institute

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Friday said it had decided to restore Drivers’ Institute to improve driving on roads in the state.

The Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, Mr Chris Olakpe, made this known during his visit to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Lagos office.

”First of all, we have to look at the versatile restoration of Drivers’ Institute; that’s all the driving schools now in operation.

“ They are being restored, rejigged, re-engineered so that the driving lessons would now begin to permeate.

“But at LASMA’s level, we have what we call the PEED – Public Education and Enlightenment Division.

“That unit is meant to enlighten members of the public.

“They go to the parks and rides to meet with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

“Discuss with them (NURTW) and call the drivers together and this is being dynamically rejigged again.

“And we are going to work on what we are doing now. To go again to the parks and rides to meet people, educate them but basically it has to start from the fundamentals of drivers’ training.

“I think Lagos has the answer to most of these things which other states don’t have.”

Olakpe said that he had built a more dynamic, more etiquette and purposeful-driven LASTMA, saying that the authority had also instituted employment of 1,200 graduate officers.

According to him, we train them (graduates) in traffic control mechanism and intelligence gathering psychology.

Olakpe said that he had nurtured LASTMA to become an agency collaborating deeply with other sister agencies and intelligence-driven.

He said that he looked forward to a LASTMA that is civil, not conflictual, LASTMA officials that will we see a car breaks down and assist in pushing and show empathy to road users.

Olakpe, however, lamented the atrocity perpetrated by miscreants who formed the habit of destroying signage erected to guide motorists.

The LASTMA chief also condemned vandalism of bridge arms by miscreants.