Nigeria, Lagos State Government annouced plans to build 57 state-of-the-art computerised vehicle inspection service centres for testing vehicles before being issued road worthiness certificates.
The General Manager of Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service, (LACVIS) Mr. Segun Ogunnaike, who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director, Prince Segun Obayendo, at a forum in Lagos on Wednesday, said the action was meant to reduce the accident rate, protect human lives and the environment.
According to him, statistics have shown that Nigeria has a very high accident rate due to ignorance. Describing LACVIS as a special purpose vehicle created by the Lagos State Government to certify the road worthiness of vehicles, being one of the most critical parts of vehicle inspection.
LACVIS had issued a statement on this new initiative and which has ruled out the insinuations that the initiative was an avenue for the government to generate revenue, stating that the amount paid for the service was meagre compared to the standard payment rate for inspection.
Head, Research and Planning, Vehicle Inspection Service, Olayemi Olumide, said the vision of the VIS was to ensure that its inspection of vehicles met the global standard, taking rickety vehicles off the road.
He further said that a number of auto mechanics were undergoing training so that they would be able to interpret inspection test results and repair the identified faults.
According to Olayemi, since August 1, a total of 541 vehicles have been tested, with 158 passing, 385 recording failure and 153 advised to repeat the test. The major defects of the cars that failed the tests were brake failure, lighting, steering, tyres, and suspension, with brake failure topping the list.
