[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has set aside June 1, 2015 as deadline for the introduction of speed limit devices to motorists in the country starting from commercial vehicle operators.
This is coming on the heels of the Lagos State Government revealing that the return of commercial motorcyclists to highways in the state has led to 34 per cent increase in road mishaps between January and April this year.
Speaking at the sensitization campaign for implementation of speed limiting device in Nigeria, the Corps Marshal, FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi in his welcome address said that the essence of the road speed limiting device was to ensure safety and security of road users at all times, adding that excessive speeding on the highways had claimed over 50 per cent of fatalities in the country.
He decried that Nigeria had not complied with the United Nations Decade of Action, which seek to eradicate fatalities on the highways, but assured that the FRSC hoped to reduce road fatalities in its 2011-2020 roadmap by 50 per cent.
He informed that the introduction of the device would commence with commercial vehicle operators while private vehicles would commence in the later part of the scheme.
He emphasized that the corps was collaborating with the National Union of Road Transport Employees, NURTW, National Association of Road Transport Owners, major vehicle companies, World Bank and other stakeholders to ensure the success of the scheme.
According to him, only Kenya was recognized in the continent as complying with the World Bank report on safer roads, despite the fact that Nigeria trained its personnel in 2002.
He said, “This is why introduction of the speed limiting device is good for the industry. If the device in installed, it would reduce fuel consumption, safe lives, increases the lifespan of road infrastructure while the vehicle engines and others would last longer. With the device, there is no way your speed can increase beyond the maximum limit it is set with.
“However, the scheme is still open to more ideas for improvement and sustainability”, said Mr. Oyeyemi. “This is just to sensitize the public, we are partnering with other stakeholders like Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and others. The organized sector like the A.B.C. Transport Company Plc has adopted the device long before now and you can ask them what they have gained with the device.”
Also speaking at the occasion, representative of the Lagos State Government, Commissioner for Transport, Comrade Kayode Opeyemi revealed that the return of commercial motorcyclists in the state had led to 34 per cent increase in fatalities between January and April.
He decried that apart from their return to Lagos roads, the motorcyclists had also returned to Abuja and other major cities across the country, but insisted that enforcement of the law lies in the hands of everyone.
