Traffic offenders would find driving on Lagos roads more challenging as the State Government commences immediate enforcement on four key roads on which Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have been deployed.
While breaking traffic lights still carries the old N20,000 fine for traffic offenders, breaking the speed limit rule now carries a N50,000 fine. It is not clear whether the new speed limit law is captured in the Lagos Traffic Sector Reform Law 2018 as amended.
At a joint press conference held by the Commissioners of Transportation OluwaSeun Osiyemi and the Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, at the Boardroom of the former, at the Alausa Secretariat, the duo said the deployment of the ITS, done in partnership with Huawei Technologies, is aimed at encouraging responsible driving and boosting the quality of life of Lagosians, especially the motori g public.
Alake said the government is happy collaborating with Huawei Technologies to bring greater optimisation of road use to the state, adding that the ITS would help boost the transportation and traffic management and make life more lovable for members of the public.
He said four new ITS would be going live to further boost what the state have been doing with the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), capturing machines already deployed to several strategic roads in the state, in a bid to make the roads safer.
Osiyemi said two speed limit cameras have been installed on two strategic roads; the Alapere-Ogudu road leading to the Third Mainland and by NITEL, on the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, on the Ikeja axis, with installed speed limit set at 80km per hour for Ogudu/Alapere and 60km/h for the latter.
He said two other ITS e-policing cameras are already installed at the Nurudeen Olowopopo Road, in Ikeja, to capture any traffic infractions and ensuring the effective electronic policing of the roads.
Osiyemi who urged all motorists, transport unions, and other road users to comply with all road traffic regulations in the state to avoid being on the wrong side of the law.
He said all offenders would receive violation alerts and commensurate fines on their SMS alerts and they have the right to contest the fine and are at liberty to pay or further contest the fines at the court.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, said the state government is not out to generate revenue, but to make the state more organized and its traffic saner.
He said all machinery are in motion to make the enforcement of the ITS seamless as it is primed to encourage voluntary compliance to traffic regulations.
Huawei Technologies representative Joseph Olayemi lauded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his transformative innovations on the transportation sector.
He said the Huawei is bringing top of the range technology that is advanced sensing control technology that is capable of combining people, vehicle and other road activities and is capable of capturing violations such as as speed limiting offense and traffic light offenses.
“Huawei Technologies is deploying high end cameras using artificial intelligence and Lagosians would begin to experience life changing transformations just by complying to the regulations”, he said.
