Hard times await traffic violators as Kaduna govt reads riot act to motorists
Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA) on Thursday read riot act to motorists plying its roads as the agency set to conduct psychology test on any motorists that misbehave while using the road facilities.
The newly created agency also limited the movement of heavy duty vehicles to 8 pm daily vowed to deal decisively to anyone caught after 8pm or before 6 am in the morning. The decision was to ensure sanity and make the State’s roads safer.
Managing Director of the agency, Col Abdulkadir Ahmed who stated these while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Califonia-based company, Eco Luminaire on road safety in Kaduna added that, the need became necessary due to increase crime and accidents in recent times.
It would recalled that, the Corps Marshal of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had a day earlier visited the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on possible areas of intervention to strengthened the State’s traffic agency after the service of the FRSC personnel had been limited to highways in the state.
KASTELEA Boss said, “this is a national programme but today Kaduna is setting the pace been the first state in Nigeria to signed a MoU with foreign company on issue regarding traffic laws and road usage.
“In our quest to keep our roads safe, we believe that it very important to partner various agencies and that is exactly what we are witnessing
today.
“We are working alongside our people because this is people-oriented project aiming at having a conducive environment that is free of road congestion, wrong parking among others”, he narrated.
Earlier, Commissioner for works, Housing and Transport, Usman Hassan who was represented by Muhammed Badamasi hope that, the programme will bring investment into Kaduna State, saying that the aim of partnering is to facilitates and enhances smooth operation of the State law enforcement agency.
According to him, “due to the busy nature of the state, all vehicles have being asked to strictly adhere to traffic rules.
Operators of commercial vehicles and tricycles are to register with the agency and issued a riders identification card to be worn at all times.
“Trucks are not to ply the city center from 6 am to 8pm daily. Offenders will go through psychiatric test once caught for any offence and there will be a vehicle emission and road worthiness test on vehicles and tricycles while offenders will be fined or send to prison term”, he stated.