The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has warned children, teenagers and young adults against using roller skate shoes, wheeled footwear and similar recreational devices on public highways, bridges and other vehicular corridors across the state.
The Authority described the practice as a serious road-safety concern, noting that users who glide alongside moving vehicles, cross carriageways indiscriminately or manoeuvre through traffic without adequate safety measures are exposed to potentially fatal accidents.
In a statement issued by its Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, LASTMA said public highways were designed primarily for vehicular movement and remained highly dynamic environments where motorists, motorcycles, pedestrians and other road users interact simultaneously.
According to the Authority, the use of wheeled recreational devices in such environments could impair users’ ability to react appropriately to sudden vehicular movements, increasing the risk of collisions and life-altering injuries.
LASTMA consequently advised parents, guardians, schools and caregivers to discourage children and other vulnerable road users from using rolling skate shoes and similar devices on highways, expressways, bridges, service lanes and other areas designated for vehicular traffic.
It urged users of such footwear to restrict skating activities to designated recreational facilities, private compounds and other safe environments specifically suitable for the activity.
The Authority also stressed the importance of using appropriate protective equipment, including helmets, knee pads and elbow pads, whenever skating.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, reiterated that road safety remained a collective responsibility requiring constant vigilance, discipline and respect for the inherent risks associated with public roads.
Bakare-Oki emphasised that the preservation of human life must remain paramount, adding that no recreational activity was important enough to justify exposing individuals or other road users to avoidable danger.
He further appealed to motorists to exercise heightened vigilance around children and young persons using wheeled footwear, particularly in residential areas, estates, school zones and other locations where vulnerable road users could suddenly enter the traffic stream.
LASTMA also urged members of the public to promptly report dangerous traffic situations, road obstructions, crashes, vehicle breakdowns and other incidents requiring urgent traffic-management intervention through its toll-free short code 3367.
The Authority said prompt reporting would facilitate timely intervention by relevant traffic-management and emergency-response personnel.
LASTMA reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives, promoting responsible road-user behaviour and ensuring a safer and more orderly transportation environment across Lagos State.
It stressed that safety on Lagos roads was not merely a regulatory obligation but a shared civic responsibility requiring the cooperation of motorists, pedestrians, parents, schools and other road users.