The Nigerian roads have witnessed many unnecessary deaths for years such that the figures of road crashes fatalities continually scale upwards without restraints. Among other road accident causing factors, vehicles with mechanical defects on the roads top the leading cause of the fatalities.
Negatives of this include loss of lives and properties, morbid phobia for travelling and revenue loss for individuals and business owners. And under weak enforcement policies, vehicle inspection agencies lost their statutory rationale for existence and vehicle owners thrived on the chaos to acquire road worthiness certificates as transactional documents to evade road arrest.
To address this issue and re-assure the citizens of moving towards a sustainable economic trajectory, across the states, concerted efforts have been made to harness the goodwill from capable firms committed to investing and partnering with the government to create a working template for vehicle inspection for the issuance of road worthiness certificates.
This is long overdue. Across the globe, countries like Canada, US, Singapore, Thailand, France and Poland stand tall as compliant countries inspecting vehicles as a procedure, both for safety and environmental (emission) reasons, to ensure that it conforms to regulations requirements. In Africa, countries like Ghana, South Africa and Egypt are calling the shots in proactively campaigning for safer roads with road worthy vehicles. It was simply a matter of time before Nigeria took a seat at the table to hold sway as an influential member with its Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service, CVIS.
CVIS, pioneered by Temple Group Limited testifies to the ability of the Nigerian Government to chart a new direction for improved road safety. Spearheaded by Prince Segun Obayendo, the CVIS model set up in over 18 states is a bold move to unpick the damage years of neglect has bestowed upon the inspection centres. With ultra modern testing equipment nestled in cozy ambience, the CVIS is a starter for national conversation, looking at the bright side of improved government and private sector partnership.
In Lagos State, the CVIS brand, operating as the Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service, LACVIS, provides an array of vehicle inspection services that support the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, statutory obligations of certifying a vehicle before the issuance of road worthiness certificate. Safety checks include Brake Efficiency test, Steering system, Suspension efficiency, Chassis & its Attachments, Wheel Alignment, Emission Testing, Lightning System, Headlights, Body, Axle, Wheels, Tyres, Visibility, Underneath Inspection among others.
Getting its due credit, the CVIS has supercharged the state’s effort at reducing to the barest minimum road fatalities with clean and safe vehicles on the roads. At major local government areas such as Ikeja, Ikorodu, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Badagry, Alimosho, Lagos Mainland and Surulere, a LACVIS test centre stands tall. A peek inside the building reveals an intentional approach to dignify the process of transport documents renewal; cozy waiting rooms, friendly front liners and exceptional service delivery. Technology has been employed to reduce dependency on cash and also for the inspection process.
Beyond the setup of these centres, the next focus is on the government to get people to be aware of how CVIS affects them for the better. Tackling this thorny problem of defective vehicles on the roads requires collaboration of ideas and stimulus to effect the required behavioral change for motorists to see beyond the road worthiness certificate as a transactional document.
The measure of success for the CVIS operations lies in its ability to improve the quality of human life by guarantying sound road worthiness of vehicles. It is for this reason that its catalyst role transcends beyond mere inspection of vehicles. Regulator of the CVIS project, The VIS, needs alliances, especially with other safety agencies, to promote first, a common ground for seeing to the safety of motorists and other road users on the roads and second, to reinforce the message of safer vehicles for the roads.
*Abike Awojobi is Business Development and Media Relations Manager of LACVIS