Published By Olanrewaju Adesanya
Beginning from January 1, next year, no vehicles would be issued road worthiness certificates without physical inspection, the Lagos State Government has said.
It said motorists would have to present their vehicles for physical inspection at any of the designated computerised vehicle inspection centres across the state before they would be issued a road worthiness certificate.
Announcing this at a stakeholders meeting with all transport operators, at an event which took place at the VIS headquarters in Ojodu Berger, Lagos, on Friday, the Commissioner for Transportation Dr Frederic Oladeinde said this is to further strengthen the safety of the roads by ensuring that all vehicles plying Lagos roads are road worthy.
He said the new policy is geared towards making the road safe for all users and in line with the THEMES agenda of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
He explained that the new policy would void the hitherto practice where any motorists can procure road worthiness certificate without presenting the vehicle for proper checks.
He said: “No one would be able to obtain road worthiness certificate anywhere in the state without the Vehicle Inspection Service (LACVIS) certifying such vehicles road worthy,” Oladeinde said.
He explained that if the vehicle passed the minimum safety standard of the computerised test, such vehicles would be issued the certificate and anyone whose vehicle failed the tests would be given one month grace period within which to fix the problems on such vehicles after which such would be returned for certification test upon which a road worthiness certificates would thereafter be issued.
He said any motorists who failed to have his vehicle repaired within the grace period would have to process another road worthiness certificate to enjoy the 30 days grace.
Oladeinde said the meeting with the Stakeholders was a forum to collate the suggestions or challenges that stakeholders feel might impede the success of the policy, assuring that their views would be presented to the Governor for consideration and appropriate actions.
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“I have taken down all your questions and observations and I want to assure you that I would present them to Mr Governor for appropriate action,” the Commissioner said.
Earlier, the Director of Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service Engr Akin-George Fashola said the new policy is to reduce the presence of VIS officers on the road, and to ensure that motorists voluntarily comply with all regulations aimed at ensuring that the roads are safe for all road users.
He therefore urged all transport unions leaders to help the government by ensuring that all their members know about this policy as no one would be able to procure road worthiness certificate without taking their vehicles for inspection.
He said already 26 centres have been established and plans are in place to ensure that all the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) have the computerised centres.
For public transport vehicles as well private there are basic or minimum safety standards which all vehicles must
comply with to be given a road worthiness permit and any vehicle without it should be voluntarily taken off the road and not wait for the VIS to impound them.
He explained that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) machines installed on the CCTV camera installed across the state have been calibrated to recognise the 30 days grace period and would not enter any infringement against anyone who had presented his vehicle for such checks within the grace period.
He said all classes of vehicles including trucks, articulated vehicles, commercial buses, corporate fleet operators and private cars would be adequately covered once this policy rolls out next year.
He explained that the VIS would not go after anyone but patiently wait for violators of the law to be apprehended and be made to face the music.
He said the state decided to embark on this policy drive to ensure that anyone who obtained the certificate indeed has a vehicle that is road worthy, adding that on several occasions the state had been held vicariously liable in cases of litigation where vehicles that are not road worthy had caused collateral damage and litigants are prosecuting on the strength that such vehicles obtained appropriate certificates to operate on the road.
In his goodwill message, the Managing Director of Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (LACVIS) Prince Segun Obayendo said the Computerised centres are installed with state of the art equipments to help detect all problems on any vehicles and this is to ensure that vehicles plying the state roads are road worthy and not accident prone.
He said LACVIS now has over 26 centres scattered across the state and urged motorists to bri g their vehicles for checks as part of their contributions to safety on our roads.
The Lagos Sector Commander Federal Road Safety Corps, Olusegun Ogungbemide said the command would ensure the success of the policy. He urged transport unions and other stakeholders to voluntarily comply in order to ensure that the roads are made safe for all users.
A former transport leader Cheif Remi Ogungbemi urged the government to come up with policies that are corrective and not punitive and to treat transport operators as equal stakeholder as movers of the wheel of the nation’s economy.
Speaking on behalf of other union members Secretary General of NURTW Ojodu Berger Branch B, Comrade Taiwo Abiodun assure the government that the union would continue to support the government in its determination to make the roads safe for all users.