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An early morning gridlock, yesterday, caused motorists and commuters to be stranded for over three hours between Ovia Bridge and Okada junction along the Lagos-Benin expressway.
Impatience was said to have played a major part as vehicles also drove against traffic causing, the gridlock to escalate.
Most of the stranded vehicles were articulated vehicles which were said to have left Benin early in the morning with the hope of getting to their destination in good time.
Some vehicles reportedly broke down due to the gridlock while an accident along the route also contributed to the gridlock, just as some drivers attributed the gridlock to impatience and the parking of vehicles along the roadside by other drivers who were still sleeping in their vehicles early in the morning.
Besides, they said the Okada axis of the road has become notorious for gridlock due to a bad spot close to the Tipper garage.
A driver who gave his name as Akanni said that it was unfortunate that his colleagues still found it difficult to adhere to rules guiding their profession, “Imagine drivers parking on the road side, sleeping and not waking up on time to continue their journey, thereby contributing to the gridlock”.
Also speaking, another driver, who gave his name as Chukwu, said he heard there was a traffic jam on the Ovia bridge at about 2am on Sunday so he decided to sleep at the bypass close to Oluku but was surprised to meet another gridlock after he passed through the Ovia bridge traffic without hassles.
Blaming the government for allowing his colleagues to become lawless road users, Chukwu said the government agencies, especially the Federal Road Safety Corp, must ensure motorists drive safely and correctly on the roads.
He called on the Edo State Government to repair the bad spot along the road to enhance vehicular and human movement, saying “Everything boils down to the government. Their agencies must enforce the law while the repair of the bad portion of the road should also be done”.
However after navigating the gridlock in three hours it was clear that impatience played a major part as vehicles have also driven against traffic causing the gridlock to escalate.
