Pains, gains of Lagos drivers’ recertification
The assembly is not a fun-seeking exercise for these drivers who abandoned the day’s work in order to get recertified by the agency. It is indeed a place meant for serious business. Little wonder, some of the drivers arrived the premises as early as 5am in order to get accredited for the exercise. Because of […]
The assembly is not a fun-seeking exercise for these drivers who abandoned the day’s work in order to get recertified by the agency.
It is indeed a place meant for serious business. Little wonder, some of the drivers arrived the premises as early as 5am in order to get accredited for the exercise.
Because of the 75 persons ceiling to be attended to daily, some take refuge in their garages to facilitate their access to the garage.
Our correspondent, who visited the LASDRI office on Thursday observed heavy human and vehicular traffic at the premises of the agency.
About five commercial drivers almost collapsed while on queue, apparently due to the stress they have passed through for the day.
One of the drivers, who identified himself as Baba Adijat told our correspondent that he took temporary accommodation at his workshop last night having failed on three occasions to get certified.
He said he arrived the premises of LASDRI before 5am only to discover scores of his colleagues on queue.
“I really don’t have choice than to queue here and get certified today because I failed on three occasions to do that. I took temporary accommodation at the workshop which is not far from here but I was surprised that on getting here before 5am, there were many on queue. At the workshop, I didn’t have a sound sleep that is why you saw me taking a nap in my bus. But I am not bothered by this strain.
Another commercial bus driver, Mr Toye Adetayo also told our correspondent that he slept at Oshodi garage to guarantee him easy recertification..
He said: “My decision to sleep in the garage was influenced by the interaction I had with those who have been trained by the institute. They told me that in order to get recertified I need to ‘abandon’ my home on the eve of the exercise. I tried it and it worked, even though I am number 60 on the queue.”
Lagos explains recertification:
Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, said his administration’s policy on drivers’ re-certification exercise, has engendered the enactment of a mandatory law establishing the Drivers’ Institute for professional drivers to up-date their skills at least once in a year, which was signed into Law in 2007.
He said commuter bus drivers, company drivers, school bus drivers, those who drive private individuals and every driver who earns a living by driving must be recertified.
He said the unbecoming attitude of some of the drivers to undergo the re-certification may warrant an enforcement policy to ensure that all violators of the policy are penalized accordingly and in order to make our roads safer for commuters.
He explained that it is better to start from re-certification exercise first before engaging in other advanced courses, which will prove that the exercise is not just for revenue generation or to display anarchy as some viewed it.
“The human capacity development policy of the Lagos State Government in making Lagos roads safe is to develop skills in modern technology of driving. Drivers’ in the state must therefore go through re-certification to ensure safety of lives and property and other transport infrastructural facilities that make up the emerging mega-city of Lagos,” he adds.
To this end, the state government established five LASDRI centres in accordance with the five districts of the state tagged IBILE: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe. It was discovered that the facilities at the four other centres were not as effective as those at the Oshodi centre which is the headquarters.
Commissioner for Transportation in the state, Kaode Opeifa said that Lagos Drivers Institute is not substitute for the national Driving License Scheme.
He said before one can be certified, he must have his or her Driving License”.
Penalty for violators: According to him, anyone found driving a company vehicle without re-certification would be fined N250,000 while commercial bus drivers without certification would be fined N50,000.
Opeifa said henceforth, using uncertified drivers would attract penalties of between N50, 000 and N250, 000 fines or jail terms, as prescribed by the state traffic law of 2008.
He said: “Giving your vehicle to a driver that is not certified is an offence by both the owner and the driver. With this new measure, we hope to reduce road accidents in this state by 50 per cent.”
He disclosed that the state government had registered only 18,000 drivers since 2008 as against 500,000 it projected.
Any defaulters caught?: Although the state government said it has begun clampdowning on recalcitrant professional drivers, it could not be confirmed the number of those that have received government’s sledge hammer.
Officials of the state’s Ministry of transport could not provide the statistics to our correspondent.
But Sunday Trust gathered that the drivers are rather avoiding anything that would set them in collision with the state, especially now that the new traffic law in Lagos is in effect.
“It is better to comply with the directive rather than incur unnecessary penalty. That is why my company has instructed all its drivers to get recertified by the Institute before the end of this month. We have few drivers in my company that have not done so due to their busy schedules. But I believe all of them will be certified by next week”, Mr Allison Samson, a driver with a blue chip company in Lagos said.
A taxi driver in Lagos Island of the state, Mr Akinola Joseph, said the new traffic law encouraged him to get recertified with the Institute.
“I know the new traffic law has serious input on the recertification of drivers in the state. There is no escape route for defaulters. I don’t have any job than this so If I want to continue to pay my children’s school fees I must obey the instruction of the state government. It took me the whole day when I did the recertification, but I’m satisfied and fulfilled that I have nothing hanging on my neck’’.
Are Lagosians complying?: A senior official of the Lagos Sate Drivers Institute, confirmed that there has been sharp increase in the numbers of drivers trained by her agency in recent time.
According to her, over 200 drivers have been trained in the past two months, adding that the agency hopes to do better before the end of the year.
Besides, the number of commercial and companies buses that lined the premises of the LASDRI daily reveals the level of compliance with the initiative.
A commercial bus driver in Orile, Yunusa Abolore said his colleagues in the garage have complied over the directive to get recertified.
He said his members’ compliance was boosted by the advice of the transport union in the garage.
“Our union constantly advises us on the benefits of the initiative and penalty in case of default. Infact, we were given no option than to recertify’’.
A company driver, who craved anonymity said his company has also complied and has almost got its drivers recertified in line with its corporate policy.
The pains: Beautiful as the initiative appears, most Lagosians complain of lack of sufficient space to accommodate them for training.
They said much patronage of the Oshodi centre of the LASDRI is not good enough as it is capable of running down the facilities there in no time.
They want the four other centres to come alive, while also imploring the government to consider having a centre in each of the local government areas of the state.
“This will reduce man-hours wasted on the exercise. It will also give people the opportunity to learn and assimilate faster”, Suleiman Hassan, a university lecturer told our correspondent.