PROGRAMME: SAFETY TRAIN ON TRAFFIC RADIO (96.1FM LAGOS)
DATE: 18/01/2022
ANCHOR: FAYO WILLIAMS
TOPIC: HOW THE NEW ROAD WORTHINESS POLICY PROMOTES SAFETY ON OUR ROADS
GUEST SPEAKER: ENGR AKIN – GEORGE FASHOLA

GUEST PROFILE:

Engr Akin – George Fashola, a native of Lagos Island division obtained a double Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Vehicle/Industrial Design from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois USA in 1995. He holds a MSc in Automotive Engineering Design obtained in 1998 from Coventry University, England.
He has over 20 years of diverse service experience which he acquired from working in various internationally renowned conglomerates such as IBM UK, Ford HQ in Michigan USA, Jaguar Cars in UK and Honda UK serving in various roles from Design Engineer to Project Manager.
Engr. Akin – George Fashola joined Lagos State Civil Service in January, 2014 and has served in the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Works and Infrastructure before he was redeployed to the Directorate of Vehicle Inspection Service under Ministry of Transportation in 2017 where he acted as the Divisional Head, Drivers Training and Testing till he was appointed the Head of the Directorate, Vehicle Inspection Service in August 2019.
Akin – George Fashola is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSC) and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigerian (COREN).

QUESTION OF THE DAY

• What is the meaning of Road worthiness?

Guest speaker: Simply put, it is the state in which your vehicle is allowed to go on the Lagos roads as specified by the law. It also ensure every road users maintains the minimum safety standards that are applicable to all.

Anchor: Beautiful, these terms in which your vehicle is permitted to go on road in order to maintain minimum safety standards permissible, allowable and good for all. Can you please give us an overview of this new policy?

Guest speaker: That’s a very good questions. the primary focus for roadworthiness certificate is to minimize the breakdown of vehicle and allow free flow of traffic in Lagos. It is also a safety criteria. Because if your vehicle is in good shape, is the likelihood that you may not experience vehicle break down on the road. And you don’t run into issues, especially at night, where there’s hardly any services to accommodate. That is the main essence of the road worthiness And also, you would agree with me that in recent times, Mr. Governor has embarked on a massive road rehabilitation program. And in order to complement that, residents of the state also need to do their own part in making sure that the vehicles that they bring on the road at the very minimum is safe to drive on Lagos roads.

Anchor: So now the next question should be what category of vehicle need to undergo this road worthiness?

Guest speaker: This policy covers all vehicles that is registered in Lagos state, if your vehicle is registered in Lagos, whether it be government use, whether it be private use, whether it be public use, whether it be commercial use, you are not exempted from this policy.

• Why did the Lagos State government come up with this ‘no test, no road worthiness permit’ policy?

Guest speaker: Okay, like you said earlier in time past, you will come, residents will come and apply for roadworthiness certificate. We would issue it to you with provision that you would bring the vehicle in 30 days for testing, but as soon as residents collect it, they will just disappear. We have all this facilities that government has invested in for this particular purpose that are not being utilized. We have a machinery in 26 centers that are not being used. Before now, and if we saw 20 vehicles in a day we will be happy.
Anchor: But now what’s happening now? What are the number in a day?
Guest speaker: Well the numbers are incredible, I want to commend the residents of Lagos state they have really taken upon the facility. Also, averagely, we would do an average of 100 and 110 vehicles a day per center. And those numbers are indicative of the fact that we tell them by 4:30 they should come back the next day as we need to close for each day. if we allow them they will continue sending their vehicles for testing.
Anchor: But what if the vehicle fails. do we have to change for receipt or retake?
Guest speaker: Absolutely. So, if you come within the 30 days specified how you feel, they will give you another 30 days to go out and fix whatever it is that is broken and then come back for retest free of charge.
Then, there is a short break for traffic updates, after which the program continues…

• What parts of the vehicle Will be examined?

Guest Speaker: This is a part of the minimum safety requirement for vehicle to ply the roads. So we are looking at your brakes, the effective news, your shocks, your steering and ensuring your headlights are pointing in the right direction.

When you press on the brake pedal the tail lights illuminates, your emissions which is set by LASEPA on the minimum safety standard that your engine should be emitting out. We also check for your alignment, we check that your windscreen is easy, and also having working wipers.

• Does a new car need road worthiness ?

Guest speaker: Our vehicle is a statutory responsibility of the state in which you reside. So if you are a visitor, the state in which you reside will have the Vehicle Inspection Service that issues out roadworthiness. So long as you collect it, and it is valid, because Lagos state will honor that any time of the day and must be presented, you must do a physical presentation. As for Lagos state we have gotten to the point where we don’t really necessarily have to stop you to check your roadworthy certificate. So we have cameras, we have other devices that we use, you can just go and we can issue you automatically for failure to do that.

• How much is Lagos roadworthy certificate?

Guest speaker: it is the same price you will pay for roadworthy certificate last year that you are still paying now. It’s just that people did not bring their vehicle for testing. So what we are saying now is I am no longer giving you the certificate unless you present your car for testing there is no extra fee involve in that process.
Anchor: Wow that’s fantastic, so it means there’s something somewhere in the sky like a spy device watching everything on the street of Lagos, so the goldfish has no hiding place in lagos anymore. But Sir, I’m suspecting that this policy is to generate IGR for Lagos State amd you know the Lagosians outside there will be saying ‘Ooma suwon’ in Yoruba Language meaning they will soon get tired with time. Some people are waiting, so what do you have to say to that?
Guest speaker: Well it’s a two way question, the first one you asked is if it’s an IGR generation way for Lagos state and I will put it to you that, it’s the same way you’re paying for road worthiness that you’re still paying, so the idea is we are no longer giving you certificate until you present your car for testing, so absolutely no extra fees.
Anchor: Fantastic, so it’s from the goodness of the heart of the Governor that he just want everybody to drive a car that’s safe for you and other road users. So Lagosians, I hope you’re listening if you intend to ply Lagos roads and you don’t want the Big Brother cameras to detect your cars hasn’t gone for vehicle inspection you will need to follow the procedures which will be released by engineer judge in minutes, but before that I will like to ask is there a website people can go to for more details about pricing and rates for each vehicles?
Guest speaker: Alright we are now in a technology world so people can go to http://dvis.lg.gov

• How do I renew my roadworthiness in Lagos?

Anchor: how do I get my vehicle inspected for road worthiness and obtain a certificate in Lagos?
Guest speaker: Okay. So basically, the procedure hasn’t changed, the way you normally get your roadworthiness ticket. I would advise residents to always go into the office, if you can, just like I said before, the Vehicle Inspection Services Office, we have over 45 of them across Lagos state. Now, if you cannot do that, and you have somebody that you can send, that’s okay too. But what we are saying is you will not get the certificate until you bring the vehicle for physical test.

So we have the centers in Lagos state where you can just run them quickly, we have in;

Ayobo, Okooba, Pwd, Lagos Island At Oluwo, Agric Isawo Road Ikorodu, Bolade Oshodi, Epe, Headquarters Which Is at Ojodu, Gbagada Nci Building, Aja Health Center, Lasu, Ojo Campus, Ibeju Lekki Test Center at The Local Government Secretariat, Odogunyan Ikorodu, Badagri At Pwd Yard, Okoafo, Ojota Test Center The Mechanic Village, Yaba Test Center Behind Presbyterian Church, Okeodo, Owode Onirin, so on and more coming

Anchor: Do they just pounce on their vehicle and test?
Guest speaker: No, for easy access for certain areas. So we move to mobile test centers at various locations so to accommodate as many people as we can as possible.

• As you gear up for this enforcement, are there challenges the VIS envisages?

Guest speaker: Well, the challenges are so many but solutions are also available. What I would say quickly is, this testing will allow us to differentiate who we need to go after. We don’t need to bother, because the system will automatically tell whether your vehicle is roadworthy or not been there for the test. And if you haven’t, this is a simple check on the system it will out you, traffic management solution systems that we use for enforcement.

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