Aside from computerised inspection of vehicles, Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) has taken another step in ensuring that Lagos State roads are safe for both commuters and drivers alike.
With newly installed cameras at traffic lights around Lagos, it is now nearly impossible for recalcitrant drivers to break the lights’ rule or drive against traffic and go scot-free.
Recall that few years ago, the same VIO introduced the use of computer to detect defective vehicles on sight without having to stop every moving vehicles for checks.
“Once a vehicle is coming we look at your plate number, key it into the app to get the chassis number. It will check whether the vehicle’s papers had been renewed, know when the vehicle was registered and get the personal details of the owner of the vehicle,” it once said.
Regarding traffic light offenders, there had been several reports of the effectiveness of these cameras as many ‘born-again’ offenders narrated their experience on social media.
One advised:
“Good day, for those that stay in Lagos, please do not jump the traffic lights even for one second or you will regret it, when the light is even on amber(yellowish), just stop, these dudes have installed very sophisticated cameras all over the place, the cameras capture you once you default and an SMS is sent to you immediately.
“The stuff caught our driver, the cheapest fine you pay to VIO is N20k, We solved it today, come see the no of people there yesterday that were caught, the cameras used to be only in Alausa area, its now all over Lagos. Our driver got caught on Ozumba Mbadiwe, they will even show you the video recording of where you committed the offence.
“Please make sure your papers are up to date, once they catch you, the computer automatically runs through your papers and if any is expired, you pay extra 30k, those VIO guys in Lagos are mean and ruthless.
“This is not a forwarded message, it happened to our company driver.”
Another shared a screengrab of the message from the agency below.
With this development, pundits believed that this is another testament that technology could aid in bringing sanity to Nigerian roads.
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