Staging a Truck on a Busy Lagos Street: Parking and Loading Etiquette

The truck has stopped outside a block of flats on a street that was already busy before it arrived. A keke driver is tapping his horn, a woman wants to reverse out of her gate, and two boys with a mattress are standing in the road because nobody told them where to put it. Within ten minutes, the whole street has an opinion about your move.

Loading on a busy road is where many Lagos moves either go smoothly or start an argument. Here is how to stage a vehicle so it does not.

Walk the street before the truck arrives

A few minutes the day before saves an hour on the day.

• Where is the nearest gap or open frontage for the vehicle?
• Are there parked cars, a generator, a gutter cover or a low cable at the building?
• Is the street one-way, and which way will the truck face when it leaves?
• Is there a shop or a gate that needs to be reached all day?
• Who owns or manages the frontage? The landlord, the caretaker or a neighbour may be the right person to ask.

Take two or three photos and describe the street in your request, so the driver knows what he is driving into.

Speak to people, not just about them

If a neighbour's car is blocking the frontage, knock and ask politely rather than waiting for the driver to hoot. Tell the caretaker and the gateman the time the truck will arrive and how long you will be. A short, friendly word at the start works better than apologies in the middle of a row.

Park where you are allowed to park. If you need a pass, a letter or a word with the area's association, sort it before the day. We do not state local rules in this guide, because they differ by street and estate, so confirm yours with the landlord or the people who manage the area.

Position the vehicle properly

1. Pull in as close to the kerb or the gate as is safe, with the loading side facing the building.
2. Leave room for other vehicles and for people to pass. A lane fully blocked for an hour creates anger.
3. Switch on hazard lights while loading and put out reflective cones or bright markers if the driver has them.
4. Keep the engine off while people are working behind the vehicle.
5. Make sure the handbrake is on and the wheels are chocked on a slope.

For a narrow street, a pickup van is often easier to place than a truck. If you are unsure which to pick, read our guide on choosing the right truck size.

Stage the load, do not pile it on the road

Move furniture from the house to a clear waiting spot beside the vehicle, not into the road. Only bring out what the vehicle can load in the next few minutes. A bed frame and three mattresses lying across the pavement slow everybody down and expose your things.

Assign one person to guard the pile. Items at the roadside can disappear in a moment, and a laptop or a bag of documents should never be in that pile at all. Keep valuables in your own hands or in your own car.

Protect passers-by

Keke and okada riders, children and pedestrians will pass within a metre of your load. Ask one helper to stand at the back of the truck, wave bikes through and call "wait" when a heavy item comes down the ramp. A plank across a drain, a wet step or an uneven ground needs a person watching it.

Do not leave a ramp or a tailgate hanging open when nobody is at the vehicle. Our guide to offloading a truck safely is written for drivers, but customers can learn the order of work from it.

Keep it short

Speed is a courtesy on a busy road. Before the truck arrives, have the heavy items near the door, small boxes taped and labelled, and the route out of the house clear. A prepared house loads in a fraction of the time, and the neighbours see less of you.

Tell the driver honestly if you are not ready. Waiting with the engine running is expensive for him and annoying for everybody else. Our driver-side note on what to do when the customer is not ready at pickup explains why this matters.

If the street is simply too tight

If the truck cannot sit close to the building, plan a shuttle: a smaller vehicle or hand carry from the building to the truck, which waits at a wider point. Say this in the request. Our piece on moving from tight access homes in Lagos has more on long carries.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Open the Sphere app and choose a pickup van for narrow streets or a truck for a larger load.
2. Add pickup and drop-off, and describe the street, the landmark and where the vehicle can stop.
3. Mention any pass, parked cars, steps or a long carry.
4. Propose your price. Nearby verified drivers accept it or send a counter-offer.
5. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.

For city moves, see our Lagos page and house moving in Lagos.