By Fresh Facts Magazine Investigations Desk
Despite repeated campaigns on road safety, Lagos roads remain some of the most dangerous in Nigeria — and experts are now pointing to one overlooked factor: poor driver training.
At the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) Annual Train-the-Trainer Workshop, themed “Drivers’ Education: Panacea to Economic Growth and Development,” stakeholders warned that unless the state invests in more innovative and practical training for drivers, the spate of avoidable crashes will continue to claim lives and drain the economy.
Recent data from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) show that driver error remains the leading cause of road accidents across Nigeria, accounting for over 80% of reported crashes. In Lagos — a city of over 20 million people and more than five million registered vehicles — the stakes are even higher. Every year, thousands of commuters are killed or maimed in accidents linked to reckless driving, inadequate training, and poor enforcement of traffic laws.
“Many drivers on Lagos roads have never been properly trained. Some buy licenses, others learn through trial and error. That is why you see commercial buses weaving dangerously through traffic and truck drivers who can’t even read basic road signs,” one safety expert told Fresh Facts Magazine on the sidelines of the event.
At the workshop, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, acknowledged the challenge and promised that the government would intensify efforts to enforce structured training and strict compliance with driving standards.
But perhaps the most striking demonstration came from Ojo Balogun, founder of Leap Driving Academy, who introduced drunk driving simulation goggles. Volunteers were asked to perform simple coordination tasks first without the goggles and then while wearing them. The dramatic difference highlighted how alcohol impairs balance, judgement, and reaction time — a reality Lagos commuters witness daily in crashes caused by impaired drivers.
“Driver education must move beyond theory. We need adaptive, interactive, and memorable methods if we are serious about saving lives,” Balogun stressed.
Critics argue that despite LASDRI’s existence, enforcement remains weak. Many drivers, especially commercial ones, operate for years without recertification or retraining, while corrupt licensing practices allow unqualified drivers behind the wheel.
The General Manager of LASDRI, Afusat Tiamiyu, was praised for raising standards and tightening compliance, but even her office admits that enforcement alone cannot keep pace with the city’s explosive vehicular growth.
As Lagos urbanises further and traffic congestion worsens, the cost of neglecting driver education is measured not just in human lives but also in lost productivity, rising healthcare costs, and eroded public confidence in the transport system.
The message from the workshop was clear: without urgent reform in how drivers are trained, Lagos risks normalising road carnage as part of daily life.
