The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has explained why it decided to introduce compulsory speed limiting devices in vehicles plying the nation’s highways.

Speaking this afternoon in Lagos during an interactive session between FRSC bigwigs and members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Corps Marshal of the Federation, Boboye Oyeyemi, said the action became necessary following eye-opening research by the FRSC.

He disclosed that the commission swung into action to introduce the policy when the Department of Policy, Research and Statistics under the watch of Assistant Corps Marshal Kayode Olagunju “drew our attention to the fact that over-speeding accounted for about 43 per cent of road fatalities in 2013 and about 50 per cent last year.”

The Corps Marshal explained that the policy would be implemented in phases, starting with commercial vehicles and school buses from June I this year. “The take-off date was not fixed by the FRSC but by stakeholders. We called a meeting of stakeholders, during which they discussed and chose June 1, 2015 as the starting date for the implementation of the policy,” he said.

Dr. Olagunju and the Deputy Corps Marshal in Charge of Motor Vehicle Administration, Charles Theophilus, also fielded questions from the online publishers during the interaction which took place at the FRSC Lagos Zonal Headquarters in Ojodu.

Both men – just like Corps Marshal Oyeyemi – assured of FRSC’s commitment to continue to deliver on its mandate to improve road safety and compliance with relevant laws, including the obtaining of genuine car and drivers’ licences without engaging the services of touts. They warned that the use of fake licences can lead to arrest and severe penalties as stipulated by law.

•Photo shows Corps Marshal Oyeyemi.

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