Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) has called for collaboration with stakeholders on effective traffic management to reduce road crashes and promote safety on Ogun highways.

Speaking to newsmen after an interactive session with the representatives of various industries, along Lagos/ Ibadan express way and Abeokuta /Sagamu Interchange, at the TRACE Headquarters, Abeokuta, the Most Senior Officer, (TRACE), Commander Elias Omonayajo emphasised the need for collective action to put an end to indiscriminate parking on the highways across the State.

He said that the Agency would intensify more effort on sensitisation and training of truck drivers on the dangers associated with illegal and indiscriminate parking on the highways.

Omonayajo who was represented by the Director of Administration and Supplies in the Agency, Mr. Abubakar Adeduntan urged the stakeholders to always checkmate their drivers against acts that were deemed contrary to driving rules.

"As an Agency of government saddled with the responsibility of saving lives and property on the road, we would not condone indiscriminate parking and inhumane acts on the roads hence the need for continuous and intensified efforts in educating and retraining truck drivers towards reducing crashes on the major roads bearing in mind that safety is a shared and collective responsibility," he said.

Commander Omonayajo advised articulated vehicle owners and drivers to desist from reckless driving and driving against the traffic, maintaining that the meeting would now be held quarterly.

He noted that another aim of the interactive session was to intimate articulated vehicle drivers on the importance of obeying traffic laws and regulations at all times, advised that, they should always park their trucks where the State government and their respective companies had allotted for parking.

Accordingly too, Omonayajo charged them to always check the conditions of their vehicles before setting out for any journey to avoid breakdown, as any truck found parked on the roadside even with the excuse of mechanical faults would not deter TRACE operatives to tow such vehicle away from the roadside, informing that a special taskforce had been constituted to stop the menace as enforcement and apprehension of offenders would begin soon.

In their submission, a representative of International breweries, Mr. Olaosebikan Olumide and his counterpart from Apples and Pears Company, Mrs. Stella Sanyerr, commended TRACE operatives on their prompt response to accident scenes and clearing of the road immediately to ensure sanity, also appreciated TRACE for the 24hours service delivery initiatives to ensure utmost safety on the roads.

They promised to ensure that their drivers make use of the parking lots at all times and that they were ready to cooperate with the taskforce constituted, appealing to TRACE to make sure that  a service phone number was available at all times in case of any emergency.