Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Wednesday called on traffic stakeholders to come up with strategies and regulations to curtail movement of trucks in order to reduce carnages on Nigeria roads.
Sanwo-Olu made the call at the opening ceremony of 2019 Annual National Conference of Directors/Chief Road Traffic Officers, tagged: “Employing Technology to Enhance Compliance and Safety on Our Road” in Lagos.
The annual conference hosted by the Lagos State Vehicles Inspection Service (VIS) had in attendance Chief Road Traffic Officers and delegates from across the federation, and other stakeholders in traffic management.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by the State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, expressed concern over truck-related accidents, containers falling off trucks and breakdowns on roads and bridges.
The governor said: “One of the reasons why we are here is to see how we can regulate trucks on our roads.
“I want to enjoin every stakeholder to debate on what we can do to curtail truck movement around Lagos and across Nigeria and see what we can do to make our roads safer.
“There must be a way that we can regulate them. First of all, we must ensure that they don’t come out if we know the trucks are not road worthy.
“These are parts of the issues that we need to debate today so that we can come up with decisive decision on how to regulate trucks in Lagos.”
Sanwo-Olu, while calling for use of technology to reduce road hazards, said that the state government had done so much to ensure safety of lives and property on the roads.
According to him, the state has employed various strategic measures to curb accidents on the roads and ensure consistency and prompt service delivery.
He described theme of the conference as strategic in the implementation of the relevant technology to mitigate risks, increase the rate of traffic law compliance and reduce hazards on our roads to the barest minimum.
“The deployment of smart, connected sensors, combined with machines learning powered analytics tools, enable us to gather information, make predictions and reach decisions that will enhance safer roads.
“It is important to state clearly that human elements are considered the major contributing factor to road fatalities/incidents as a result of reckless driving habits that negate the principle of defensive/safe driving.
“The state in a bid to be technologically driven has also identified the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device for enforcement, which captures plate numbers, while it simultaneously checks the data from a synchronised server.
“The device is suitable for Road Traffic Law Enforcement by providing an easy solution for measuring section-related traffic data,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He said that the present administration had continued to empower the Lagos State Computerised Vehicles Inspection Service Centre (LACVIS) to reduce carnages on the road.
Sanwo-Olu added that the state had also acquired for VIS an AutoVIN machine for her forensic laboratory in performing her preregistration inspection activity in line with Section 12 of the RTL, 2012 as it was globally done.
He said that the directorate had upgraded her driver’s licence manual testing into E-testing model designed to accommodate the three major languages in Nigeria including English where applicants would undergo a computer-based test.
The governor said that Accident Investigation had been one of the responsibilities of the VIS, urging the public to call on the VIS Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) when necessary.
“It is pertinent to state that for sanity, safety and security and standards to prevail on our roads, everyone is considered a stakeholders, as the road is a shared asset by all and sundry.
“It is, therefore, imperative that everyone tow the path of honour by doing what is right while making use of the road.
“I want to enjoin other states to tow the line of technology as this will enhance efficiency of compliance and safety on Nigerian roads,” Sanwo-Olu said.
In his address, Mr Paul Bepeh, the National Chairman of the Conference, said that the meeting would discuss issues on Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) in relation to road traffic safety with a view to proffering workable solutions.
Bepeh said: “It would be crystal clear that we are no longer going to fold our arms and be left behind by other parts of the world in the use of technology in MVA.
“It is high time we began to explore technology alternatives for effective performance of our schedules for better service delivery.
“It is our desire and aspiration to ensure that the 2011-2020 Decade of Action on Road Crashes as declared by the United Nations is achieved in Nigeria.
“We have, therefore, decided to work together at all levels to ensure its achievement. We must keep working together to ensure that Nigeria is taking off the list of counties with highest incidents of road crashes.”
Commenting, Mr Akin Fashola, the Director, VIS in Lagos State, said that transportation sector played a critical role in the development of any society as it integrated various social and economic parts.
Fashola noted that construction, renovations and maintenance of roads were fundamental to safety, stressing that the news to push radical awareness and machinery to maintain traffic rules and regulations.
He said: “In line with our renewed effort at improving our mode of operations on traffic rules and regulations, VIS has identified and employed technology for her operations.
According to him, these cut across pre-registration inspection, automation of road worthiness certificate, e-testing of driver’s license applicants, accident investigation, computerised vehicle inspection and enforcement of regulations.
Fashola added that the directorate had been engaging private sectors and relevant stakeholders to enhance policy initiation and implementation by ensuring conformity with beat global practices.
In his goodwill message, Mr Hyginus Omeje, the Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), called for an end to internal wrangling among stakeholders in order to put a stop to road carnages.
Also, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, Director General, Nigerian Insurance Association, called for more awareness on compliance and enforcement of insurance in case of any eventuality on the road.
