Enforcement of Speed Limiter commences Nigeria’s Independence Day
The CorpsMarshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oyeyemi has announced-that enforcement of the speed limiters on commercial vehicles operating in the country will commence nationwide on Nigeria’s Independence Day, October 12016, saying it would be totaland non-compromising.
He stated this during the stakeholders’ meetingheld at the FRSC National Headquarters Abuja with stakeholders from relevant government agencies and road transport unions in attendance.According toBisi Kazeem, The Corps Marshal commended all stakeholders for the consistent support they have given to the policy of speed limiters usage in the country, noting that without such support, it would have been difficult for the country to get to where it is today where enforcement date would no longer be controversial.
He particulalry commended the leadership of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) for their technical inputs into the policy, saying that it was such collaboration that enhanced the decision of other stakeholders to adopt the policy.
Oyeyemi said that the initial date set for the commencement of enforcement of the law was June 1, 2015, stating that the date had to be extended to allow for further consultation and more public enlightenment programmes, especially when the period fell within the same week that the present administration was inaugurated.
It would be recalled that when the Corps made presentation to Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president and suggested September 1,2015 as the new commencement date, the President extended the date to April 1,2016. He further noted that in the process of commencing the enforcement on the set date by Mr President, a motion was passed by the National Assembly suspending the enforcement pending when a public hearing was conducted by the House Committee on the FRSC to determine the desirabilityof the policy.
The CorpsMarshal announced that with the House’s approval of the policy based on public acceptance during the public hearing and its consideration of the relevance of the device in the campaign against speed-related road carnage in the country, it unanimously lifted the suspension order upon which the President gave a new enforcement date of October 2016. He called on stakeholders to take the newdate with all seriousness and ensure that their members especially commercial operators abide by the regulations by ensuring that their vehicles are installed with the devices before the commencement of enforcement to avoid sanctions.
He expressed satisfaction with the wide public acceptance of the policy,noting that with successful enforcement and willing compliance by drivers, the rate of speed-related crashes in the country would come down drastically. Reports of road traffic crashes recorded by the Corps since the beginning of the year have shown that speed accounted for over 31 percentof the causative factors.
Oyeyemi expressed optimism that with the public hearing conducted by the Committee on FRSC as directed by the National Assembly at the plenary sessions; the judicial pronouncements on the powers of the FRSC to introduce the devices and the presidential directive on the new date of October 1, coupled with stakeholders’ enthusiasm on the policy, the implementation would be successful.
.“The policyon the use of the speed limiters device was carefully enunciated based on expert advice of the Standard Organisation Nigeria; the National Automotive Design and Development Council as well asstakeholders’ support as a way of addressing the challenges of speed-relatedroad carnage in the country. It is our hope that with the 1st October 2016enforcement date approved by the President, relevant stakeholders would join handsto make the implementation successful,” the Corps Marshal stated.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, which has oversight powers over the FRSC, Tijani Kaura applauded theFRSC for introducing the speed limiters device in the country, saying it demonstrates the vision and proactive ability of the leadership of the Corps on traffic management in the country, bearing in mind the rate of speed related-crashes.
Kaura commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving thepolicy, noting that with its effective implementation; the rate of crasheswould go down to barest level. He expressed the willingness of the NationalAssembly to support the Corps in its implementation efforts and other polices thatcould enhance safety and security of people of Nigeria.
Mike Ochonma