By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has stopped the personnel of Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS) from inspecting vehicle particulars on roads in the city before 10am.
A statement issued by the chairman, FCT Ministerial task team on traffic management, Ikharo Attah, on Monday, said the initiative was part of measures to ease traffic congestion at peak periods.
This was as FCT Administration insisted that there was no going back on its earlier decision to restrict the movement of heavy duty vehicles in the territory to off-peak periods, warning of severe sanctions for those who violate the policy.
Recall that, the FCT Administration had ordered that vehicle inspection should commence from 9am, but after series of meetings with stakeholders, an additional hour was added so as to avoid clogging the roads during the early morning rush hour.
The statemant explained that the decision was borne out of complaints from residents of the city that the checking of vehicles from 9am has compounded the traffic snarl in the territory and led to loss of man hours.
It said, “by this, the road traffic officers of various agencies must focus on freeing traffic from 5am to 10am in the morning. They are to commence checking of vehicles and their particulars from 10am across the city.
“The enforcement does not affect the stopping and arrest of heavy duty vehicles that drive during peak traffic periods. Any such vehicle must be stopped from plying the road in accordance with approved policy to avert fatal road crashes occasioned by break failures usually associated with such heavy duty vehicles.”
The chairman also dismissed reports that traffic officials were causing traffic congestion by checking vehicle particulars in the evenings on the Abuja-Keffi road. He said all traffic officers on evening duties do not check documents but are positioned to sustain a seamless flow of traffic.
He however warned that the shift in the commencement of vehicles inspection time is not a licence for drivers of rickety vehicles to flood the city in the morning.
