Navigating Driving Pitfalls

It is truly ironic that in a nation of un-navigable roads and interminable unexplainable traffic caused by bad driving and even worse roads, we have no less than four agencies (five if you live in the Centre of Excellence) concerned with enforcing traffic laws and ensuring safety on the Nigerian roads. Traffic and road safety law enforcement in Nigeria is a multi-agency responsibility covered by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Police, the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and, in Lagos, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). Yes, unfortunately LASTMA is legally constituted under Lagos State Law CAPL91.

As families and holiday revellers prepare to storm the highways and inner city roads in a few weeks it is essential to be armed with the right information about motoring and traffic regulations. It is equally important to know the scope of authority of the various agencies – can they ask you for the receipt for the laptop in your car or even your vehicle particulars or is their authority limited only to checking the validity of a driver’s license? Unfortunately, there is a lot of overlap in the duties of these agencies and in a different world it would probably be comical to watch how they fall over themselves to execute their responsibilities.

As the custodians of the Highway Code, the FRSC is predominantly concerned with the safety aspects of driving: going over the speed limit (100km for cars by the way), traffic violations and checking the validity of drivers and motor vehicle licenses. So this group will routinely ask to see these ‘particulars’ and can stop you for speeding.

While the Police is arguably concerned with crime, that is fighting it not committing it, they can exercise stop and search powers on reasonable suspicion of a past, current or future crime. In addition, as law enforcement agents, the Police have a traffic section deployed in each State under which they can: control traffic (& arrest traffic law violators), inspect vehicle documents and, most surprisingly, issue vehicle particulars. At a checkpoint, the Police usually want to see proof of three things: (i) vehicle license and registration, (ii) proof of ownership and (iii) up-to-date insurance. In addition it is advisable for all cars to have the police issued document from the Central Motor Registry (CMR). This supposedly costs N1500 and provides evidence of registration with the Police and will do a lot to ease sessions with them at those inevitable road blocks.

The VIO’s powers were originally limited to inspecting cars for roadworthiness and issuing MOT Certificates. However, they are now involved in issuing vehicle license plates and drivers’ licenses along with the FRSC – another overlap.

As for the FERMA, they have absolutely no authority to enforce traffic or license laws and are strictly to maintain our roads, which probably means they are liable to being arrested under the prerogative of citizen’s arrest.

LASTMA, the agency that Lagosians love to hate, have wide powers and functions covering everything from traffic management to ‘safe guarding highways from encroachment activities of markets, road-side trading, street hawking and alms begging’. They can arrest, impound, remove & detain, tow away and declare offenders wanted in connection with a long list of fifty one offences provided in the Second Schedule of the LASTMA Law.

Surely the time has come for us to review traffic law enforcement in Nigeria. The death traps we call roads; the avoidable accidents caused by LASTMA officials diligently in the pursuit of offenders; the surprise checkpoints always around a dangerous bend of our busy, abominable highways and the complaints of many Nigerians are good enough reasons to review the responsibilities of the different agencies.

Using the 1999 Constitution as a guide; since motor vehicle administration is not explicitly listed under the Exclusive and Concurrent legislative lists, vehicle administration is a residual matter and the Police, as a federal agency should not be routinely concerned with this. This would free up the Police to fight the ever rising rate of crime and remove from their shoulders the burden of vehicle license and registration issues – especially when no less than three other agencies are already doing so.

Since the FRSC is a federal agency and legislating ‘traffic on federal trunk roads’ is the exclusive right of the Federal Government, the FRSC should limit itself to federal trunk roads and stay outside State boundaries. The VIO powers could be limited to within towns – since they have overlap responsibilities with the FRSC for motor vehicle and drivers licences. Finally, in Lagos, maybe LASTMA’s long list of responsibilities could be revised to expunge motor and drivers license management to prevent overlap with the VIO within the city.

In the interim, while we await sanity on our roads, we can ensure we are in full compliance with legal and traffic requirements and start gently pushing back when we get asked by the VIO officer for the receipt to our three year old mobile phone. Tell them you know it is not their responsibility to make such a request. Better still, since we don’t wear gloves in Nigeria, put the glove compartment to use and have copies of the enabling laws handy to wave in their faces.

Published December 2 2008