2012 Lagos traffic law-the FRSC perspective (I)

Before I dwell on the new traffic law which has generated substantial reactions, just as the 2008 law did, please allow me to refresh your memory. The focus of the 2008 law was on driving against traffic which was and is still notorious in the State and other parts of the country. The law also […]

Before I dwell on the new traffic law which has generated substantial reactions, just as the 2008 law did, please allow me to refresh your memory. The focus of the 2008 law was on driving against traffic which was and is still notorious in the State and other parts of the country. The law also focused on overloading, over-speeding, including abandoning vehicles on the highway. These are still issues in Lagos where I had the honour of being Sector Commander for three years. It was unique in that it spelt out punishments for both the driver and the owner and even passengers depending on the specific offence.

Whether it achieved its objectives is a subject for another day but one clear indication is that the government, through this law, announced its intention to restore sanity in Lagos. A glimpse at the law specifically  says if you drive a commercial or private vehicle, you are liable to a fine of N250,000 or 20 days imprisonment. But while in the case of a commercial vehicle, the vehicle would be impounded and the owner might be convicted, in the case of a private vehicle, owner is liable to 20 days imprisonment or a fine of N250,000. A passenger in a non-commercial vehicle is liable to a fine not exceeding N50,000. The same penalty that applies to commercial vehicles also applies to commercial cyclists.

For those who delight in abandoning vehicles on the highway for a reasonably long period, a fine of between N50,000 and N150,000  will be paid as towing charges, while the owner of such vehicle is liable to pay N50,000 or N70,000 for commercial vehicle fine or three month imprisonment.

Overloading, which is rampant, not only in Lagos, but all over the country, draws a fine of N250,000 or 20 days imprisonment and the vehicle impounded. In the case of speeding above the legal speed limit, it is a fine of N250,000 or 20 days imprisonment or N250,000 fine and the vehicle impounded.

The owner of such vehicles may also be convicted for the offence. Persons convicted may be ordered to render community service under the law. It is, perhaps, the section that provides for vehicle seizures and furnishing of tax certificates that drew the ere of most people. Some were harsh. Some mild and quite appreciative.

I sympathise with those who felt really bad about the law. I wish they knew better. I wish they knew the pains and trauma of losing a loved one as a result of the recklessness of an irresponsible driver. However, as a Nigerian and a road safety official, I know our driving habits have done much damage to our psyche, including dreams cut short.

I am not talking about other senseless crashes caused by silly mistakes and vices, like drinking which some of us delibrately indulge in. If you were the father of a child killed by a drunk driver, please tell me what penalty would compensate for your dead child?

How much fine or how many years of imprisonment  would heal your wound? I believe strongly that the whole idea is to deter people, including vehicle owners, who would often encourage their drivers to do everything outside decent driving, disregarding the possible dangers. I recall several occasions, while on patrol with teams in the FCT, Lagos, Owerri, when we accosted vehicles plying one way with owners balanced in their corner, reading and pretending to be unaware of their driver’s mad driving.

Such ‘big men’ will also threaten, insult and even attempt to assault the team for doing their legitimate job. When you plead with them to drive, they would order the driver not to. But when and if the vehicle is finally impounded, depending on the offence committed, the same ‘big man’ would, appear the next day claiming innocence of any wrong doing.

This is why I am most excited about the 2012 Law though I regret that the governor waited for me to be transferred before introducing this new law. The new Lagos State Road Traffic Law recommends psychiatric, breath and urine tests for errant drivers, while punishment for offences ranged from fines to prison terms.

The law prohibits all forms of distractions by motorists while driving such as eating, drinking and making phone calls or counting money while driving. It stipulates a fine of N20,000 for first time offender and a maximum of three years imprisonment or N30,000 fine or both for subsequent offences. It further restricts commercial motorcycles, carts, wheel barrows and tricycles from operating on bridges on the island, Oshodi and Lagos Badagry expressways, Ikorodu road, among others, with a fine of up to N20,000 for beating traffic lights or driving against traffic.

It further compels commercial bus drivers, and conductors to wear identification tags. In fact, other offences attract more fines.

Just like the 2008 law, the 2012 version has received the nod of the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety, Osita Chidoka, who said the move was in order as it tallies with global trends where the in-thing is to criminalise traffic violators. He cited examples from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, just to mention a few. The FRSC boss hopes that other States will buy into the Lagos example. The development, no doubt, falls in line with the Accra Declaration. of February 8, 2007, at the Ministerial Round Table on African Road Safety Conference, held in Accra Ghana. The ministers of transport and health of member countries, including Nigeria, reaffirmed the role of transport in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.They also resolved, among others, to promote road safety as health, transport, law enforcement, educational and development priorities.

Continued next week