- Says commercial vehicles are not exempted from routine road worthiness checks
No fewer than 311 rickety commercial vehicles have been impounded in quarter one of year 2023, (between January 2023 to date), in a renewed onslaught against nonroad-worthy vehicles on Lagos roads, the Director of Vehicle Inspection Service in Lagos State, Engr. Akin- George Fashola, has said.
The impoundment exercise, which he said has resumed fully after the general elections are being carried out using the vehicles body tags, without inconveniencing the commuters on the road.
The Director disclosed this on Thursday while responding to feedbacks that traffic enforcement officers only go after erring private vehicles, leaving the commercial vehicles out of their enforcement operations.
Disabusing the minds of Lagosians the Director said the VIS have the capacity to enforce the law on any classes of vehicle and commercial motor vehicles are not excluded from the routine roadworthiness enforcement being carried out by traffic enforcement agencies in the state.
“What happens most times is that the enforcement officers out of compassion and the caution not to overburden commuters many of who may be stranded would rather than effect such arrest just pick the body tags of such offending vehicle and go and effect arrest of such buses at the parks or garages,”the director said.
Fashola stressed that the VIS and other enforcement agencies have continued to apprehend and impound rickety commercial motor vehicles, adding that such once such vehicles are impounded, often they end up being crished, adding that the agency have usually advise owners of such vehicles to take them away from the road voluntarily to be crushed.
Speaking on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition, (ANPR) Camera and the Traffic Management Solution, (TMS) device deployed by the State Government in compliance with traffic laws and regulations, Fashola said the initiative has reduced the interface between traffic enforcement officers and motorists, adding that the technology is a win-win procedure for both the law enforcement officers and motorists as the regular arguments on traffic laws violation will be put to rest through detailed recordings.
The Director assured that VIS Officers are compliant with the State Traffic Laws and would not exert any action outside what is stipulated in the law.
