Admin l Wednesday, August 09, 2017
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Two computerized Vehicle Inspection Centres have began operation in Lagos for efficient implementation of the Lagos State’s Computerized Vehicle Inspection Service initiative.
The two which are very modern are located at Ojodu-Berger and Ikorodu. While the one in Ojodu is for private vehicles, the one in Ikorodu is reserved for commercial vehicles. The operation of the centes seemed to have effaced the old tradition of merely issuing road worthiness papers without physical inspection of the vehicles.
Based on the new arrangement, car owners make payment through the ATM machine at the centres from N3,800 to N4,600 for smaller vehicles and SUVs. The vehicle is driven by officers into the computerised workshop, while the car owners watche the procedure through the glass door.
Items for inspection include braking system, steering, chasis and chasis attachments, emission testing, lighting system, alignment, axles, wheels, tyres, suspension , visibility and supplimentary test for vehicles carrying passengers, almost for free.
At the end of inspection a certificate is issued and the car owner briefed on faults to fix if any within a time frame, all these almost for free, a development which has received wide commendation, our correspondent has reported.
Brifing reporters on the development, Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Prince Anofiu Elegushi said work on the third computerized vehicle inspection centre at Lagos Island is at an advanced stage and will eventually extend to the remaining local governments and Local Council Development Areas of the state.
He said the State Government’s decision to keep officers of Vehicle Inspection Services (VIOs) off its roads as earlier pronounced in May this year.
Elegushi stated that the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) of the State has since embraced technology billing system by using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Central Billing System (CBS) technologies to run its activities in line with global best practice adding that a pilot project of the new system was billed to take off in the state by next week
He explained that collection of data relating to vehicle documentations which is a duty of the Vehicle Inspection Service for vehicles plying Lagos roads such as vehicle license, road worthiness, insurance and others have been synchronized on e-platforms for easy verification of vehicle status on the spot, noting that any defaulting vehicle owner, through the data captured, will have bills generated through the Central Billing Systems (CBS) which in turn will be delivered to the defaulter’s home or office address as the case may be.
According to the Acting Commissioner, harmonizing the road worthiness certificate and MOT test was to further enhance the efficiency of vehicles plying Lagos roads as this would help the state consolidate its movement away from physical and manual inspection of vehicles to the computerized method.
The transportation boss seized the opportunity to alert members of the public about the observed activities of officers of the Vehicle Inspection Service of Ogun State in some areas and locations close to the state boundary adding that these officers can easily be taken for Lagos Vehicle Inspection Officers as the service’s officers uniforms are the same nationwide.
To ensure that the situation is remedied, Elegushi said efforts are at advanced stage to clearly identify the state’s boundary from that of its sister state to prevent such misconceptions. He therefore urged motorists in the State to continue to be partners in progress towards making the State safe and secure for all by voluntarily undertaking their responsibilities under extant laws regulating the operation of vehicles among others.
