Traffic law enforcement: LASTMA set to track violators with mobile device

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) says all arrangements have been concluded to unveil a mobile device to electronically track and issue tickets to traffic law violators in the state.

The Deputy General Manager of LASTMA, Comptroller Isaac Adetimiro, said this at a forum organised to explain the device and its functionality in Lagos on Friday.

Adetimiro said that the device, Traffic Management Solutions (TMS), was meant to capture videos and pictures of traffic violations in real time as they occur, without threat of harm to the traffic officers.

According to him, this technology has become imperative to efficiently and effectively manage traffic without creating further traffic flow obstruction through interaction of LASTMA officers with violators on the road.

The LASTMA boss said with the device, LASTMA’s officers would no longer physically and verbally engage violators on the road, but only use it to take videos and picture evidence of the violation.

On the operational process, he said that the Traffic Violation Management System (TVMS) through the device included data capturing, data processing, and data storage.

He said that the violation time, date, place and location would be captured and the device would transfer videos and pictures to the data processing centre for scrutiny, which would enhance transparency in the fines for offences.

Adetimiro said: “Captured violations are reviewed in our Violation Processing Centre to verify beyond any doubt that a traffic violation was committed and that the correct corresponding value of the legal fine is attached to it.

“This significantly reduces erroneous violation notifications being sent to vehicle owners. Anytime a violation is processed against any vehicle, the owner gets an SMS notification.

“The violators have 48 hours to either make payment or challenge the said violation at the court of law. If any of these is not done, action and enforcement will be taken against the violators.”

He said that the Violations Processing Centre would also provide an estimated employment for up to 3,000 qualified residents at kick off.

According to him, all processed violations are saved into individual violation files and uploaded into centralised data storage banks for safe keeping.

He said that such would be archived until they were recalled any time the need arose, for verification of violations, viewing video and picture evidence of the existing violations, or for the payment of violation fines attached to them.

The LASTMA boss said: “Every vehicle owner has a right to challenge a captured violation of their vehicle by clicking the challenge button on the website or mobile application.

”The vehicle owner would be required to go to the nearest traffic court to have the violation reviewed.

“The court will be provided with the stored video and picture evidence of the captured offence and the vehicle owner will be allowed to explain to the court why the evidence should be disregarded.”

He said that the court’s ruling and decision on the matter would be final if any violator challenged a violation in court.

Adetimiro said that vehicle owners should also be checking the status of their vehicles through free online checks, short codes and client app for any violation against such vehicles.

He said that the TMS would resolve the perennial traffic gridlock caused by traffic violation in a densely vehicular populated areas of the state.

The LASTMA boss said that it would eradicate the problem of payment of bribes to traffic officers, as only electronic payments guarantee the clearance of a violation from the violators list.