10 Ways to get around Lagos Traffic

10 Ways to get around Lagos Traffic - Lagos is a peculiar busy city. A stripe of land with more than 20 million people jostling for very limited space and narrow roads. Everyday life in Lagos is a traffic life. If you live in Lagos Nigeria like me or you plan to visit Lagos, you must be prepared to face serious traffic. A 10km journey can take more than 2hours or more. Lagos traffic most time is unpredictable. Without knowing how to manage it, one’s health may breakdown and businesses opportunities will be lost.

If you live in Lagos Nigeria or plan to visit Lagos, these tips will surely help you avoid/manage traffic.

Target take-off time during rush hour 



One major driver of traffic in Lagos is many cars heading towards a particular direction at the same time. Morning rush hours and evening after work rush hours are typical examples. Lagos traffic can build like a storm. During morning rush hour, the difference between leaving your house at 6:00am or 6:30am could mean spending 2hours for a 30minutes journey. In the after work rush hour, the different between leaving your office at 4:00pm or 4:30pm could mean getting home at 8pm instead of 6pm. For some roads, traffic is generally light during the noon hours. To avoid experiencing huge traffic in Lagos, you must target to take-off at the optimal time before saturation. Study the optimal take-off time for your usual road. Use it to escape traffic.

Tune to an entertaining radio station 

Long traffic leads to boredom, tiredness and sleepy head. To reduce traffic boredom, find a favourite entertainment, comedy or music radio station to tune to. It will help you relax and drive through it. Typical radio stations for me is Cool FM 99.3, Wazobia FM 95.1 (Pidgin English station), and Brilla FM 88.9 (Sports radio).

Tune to a live traffic report radio station

You will need a live traffic report if things get confusing. Tune to a radio station that is providing live traffic report on the go. People will call in from different locations and freely give live traffic report and updates. Sometime, the callers provide alternative road networks available for use. Almost all Lagos radio stations give live traffic report, but their times differ as you would imagine. Lagos traffic Radio, 96.1 FM seems to be a good starting point.  Traffic reports can change very fast in Lagos. The road network is poor. Pot-holes are common. Road maintenance team can take long time, blocking the road and causing traffic. Petrol and Diesel tankers can fall in flash. This is common. Common accidents like car brushes and bumper hits lead to long traffic as drivers jump out of their cars to argue and claim their rights.

Check the Google map before you set off and while on the move

Google Map is a great tool for knowing the traffic density on the road, the roads that are traffic jammed and the free ones. Before setting off, use Google Map. You can also use tsaboni for a livecam view of Lagos traffic. If you have a smart phone, download the Google Map App and use it. It works very well in Lagos. Before setting out, input your location and your destination address into the App. The App will provide the road direction, and show you the traffic density on each part of the roads, point A to B. It will also inform you how long the journey will take.  Try different routes and compare, using the APP. It will help decide which route is best for your journey and save you stressed. Many private driver do not make use of this , except the UBER drivers. If you have a private driver, ask them to use it.

Check VIP movement alert  

Very Important Persons (VIP) Movement in Lagos is a serious traffic trigger. Once the president or any top government official is in Lagos, the traffic equation becomes very complex to solve. This is because security agents block access roads leading to the location of the VIP in town. Sometime it is better to remain where you are if a VIP is in Lagos, as you will be caught up in a stand still traffic. Unfortunately, getting a VIP movement alert is not easy, but you can subscribe to it through the police and other security agents.

Buy some snacks before you set off 

Young handsome man driving his car while eating food in the traffic

Although eating while driving is against the Lagos traffic law, spending the typical long time in Lagos traffic often lead to hunger and tiredness. Before you set off, buy some snack to keep your energy level up. It will help you take right decisions while driving. Tiredness and hunger can lead to road accident. When you stop moving, eat.

 

Ensure your car AC is working well

Temperature can be as high 37^oC on a normal day in Lagos. When in traffic, your car’s AC should be on and working. If your car AC is malfunctioning, then Lagos traffic could feel like hell. You will be very hot, restless and sweating.

Know the road network 

A little knowledge of the Lagos road network can save you a great deal of traffic stress. If you are new in Lagos and you can afford a private driver, get one. Do not drive in Lagos if you do not know the road network, at least to from point A to point B. Follow the road you are familiar with in the day time. Do not follow unfamiliar roads in the night.

Fuel your car 

Prepare for the worst case. Often, people run out of petrol while in Lagos traffic. Before you set off fill up.

Drive defensively 

Defensive driving means driving in such a way that you protect yourself and your car from being hit by other drivers. Once you are hit by others or you hit others, your journey in halted. You must come down, speak loooooooong grammar, before you can settle and continue. The time you will spend settling scores would have caused you the opportunity to escape the saturation.

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