By Niyi Okiri

Worried at the rate of road accidents in Nigeria, the Managing Director of Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service, LACVIS, Segun Obayendo, has proffered a solution, saying this can be reduced by 50 per cent, if vehicle owners and transporters follow due process in acquiring Drivers’ licenses and road worthiness certificates.“

Obayendo, who also urged them to avoid cutting corners, in the name of acquiring the documents, was speaking, Tuesday, in Ojota, Lagos State, as a Guest Speaker at a road awareness campaign with the theme: ‘Natural Disasters, Road Worthiness and Safety Rule Enforcement in Nigeria’, organised by the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria, CIOTA, in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Lagos State Command.

Obayendo, who is also the Group Managing Director, Temple Group Limited, urged participants to imbibe the culture of best practices, which LACVIS is out to offer, insisting that drivers should be tested theoretically and practically through Computerised Based Tests, while vehicles pass through computerised inspection.

He said: “Applicants need to be tested before acquisition of Driver’s licenses. But I found that we are not doing much of this. I recall what I went through in the United Kingdom, UK, before acquiring my driver’s license. It was harder than getting a PhD at Harvard University.’’

He urged vehicle owners and operators to wake up to this reality, saying: ‘’It was that serious and, over there (UK), if you have a driver’s license, it gives you tremendous opportunities. So, until we tie that kind of opportunities to the issuing of driver’s license here (Nigeria), we may not get it right,’’ he said.

Chairman of Council, CIOTA, Dr. Bashir Jamor, revealed that “around the world, road crash injuries cause 1.25 million deaths and 50 million injuries per annum.