In Three Months, Lagos Fined 13,750 Motorists

By Dipo Olowookere

The Lagos State Government, through the Vehicle Inspection Service, has revealed that about 13,750 motorists have been identified via the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Camera as violators of traffic laws in Lagos State within the first quarter of 2019.

The ANPR camera initiative, a collaboration with Soft Alliance Limited, was introduced to aid coordinated monitoring of commuter movement to ensure total compliance of motorists with traffic laws in the State.

Speaking on the development, the Director, Vehicle Inspection Service under the Ministry of Transportation, Engineer Gbolahan Toriola said the State Government adopted the advanced technological method to maintain a strong level of enforcement without hampering the traffic flow on the roads.

According to Mr Toriola, the ANPR technology camera captures the number plate of vehicles, records it into the system and synchronises with a database platform comprising of FRSC, Courteville and LASDRI, among other agencies, to confirm validity as well as the authenticity of the documentation of vehicles and their expiration dates.

He revealed further that some of the cameras were installed on the VIS patrol vehicles to aid the tracking of vehicles without plate numbers plying the roads.

Mr Toriola added that e-tickets are subsequently produced and served to defaulters according to the offences captured by the ANPR technology, stating that the practice is designed to encourage voluntary compliance.

He also emphasised that in case the offender is not found or does not respond with prompt payment within seven days, such person will be blacklisted and charged to a mobile court with 100% increment of the penalty fee.

He, however, assured motorists with complete documentation not to entertain any fears and sought the cooperation of all residents to maintain sanity on the roads while improving the transportation sector of the State.