At Alausa, zebras aren’t crossing

IN Lagos State, a common thing that has been observed, especially by residents and workers in and around the Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, is that motorists are less informed about road signs than commuters. In other words, commuters know better than the motorists what each of the traffic signs represents.

Any visitor to Alausa, the seat of government in the state, will not fail to notice that road signs, especially zebra crossings, abound.

The zebra crossing says that commuters are allowed to cross the road on that sign. For that reason, any driver that is approaching any of the zebra crossings must slow down and watch carefully and once he sees a commuter on the crossing, must stop and allow the fellow to pass through.

But the truth of the matter is that this has not been the situation. What obtains is that many motorists appear to see the zebra crossing as mere painting to make the roads attractive. And if they should be repainted today, the affected motorists would see such act being performed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as adding pecks to the preparations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of Lagos State – nothing more.

On many occasions, one has watched with a mixture of amusement and indignation some motorists increase their vehicles’ speed even when they see people huddled together and making for the zebra crossing. If a commuter tries to force his way through, he would have to do Usain Bolt to avoid being run over.

Only last Tuesday, a lady would have been killed on one of the zebra crossings by a driver who sped past the zebra crossing with reckless disregard for the sign. The lady barely escaped being hit. And it was not as if the road was free ahead to make him (the motorist) get away in the event of any eventuality. Perhaps he is among those who believe that the zebra crossing is only meant for zebras, and not human beings.

It is surprising that no motorist has been reprimanded for not obeying the zebra code.