Lagos driving - the rules have changed..
Click to enlarge and read. Drive the wrong way down a one-way street in Lagos at your peril from now on...
The struggle for moral authority in Zimbabwe
6 hours ago
Monday, June 16, 2008
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11 comments:
Wow. I'm waiting to see if they can really enforce these rules. They just need to make a scapegoat of some people and others will realise that they are serious.
Hello Jeremy,
An interesting development but still missing 2 essential laws - one to do with ensuring you have insurance and the other against drink-driving.
Especially, if there is one against speeding.
Yes, I know I have been away from Nigeria a pretty long while. :-)
Akin
Does fining a driver for not obeying the speed limit not require that said speed limit to be posted? This law and so many others in Naija just seem to put the cart before the horse.
@ Akin:
I think the reason why there isn’t a law against drunk driving in Nigeria is because it is not perceived to be a big problem here. That is not to say accidents are not caused by drunk drivers, I’m sure a lot are, but the police are not trained to investigate and determine causes of accidents, beyond what is obvious to all concerned i.e. excessive speeding, burst tyres, brake failures, swerving to avoid cows, goats, chickens, etc roaming the streets indiscriminately and the use of cell phones. Anything else is put down to the driver’s carelessness or just ‘an accident’. In which case, thank God you’re alive (if you are!) and move on.
Until victims start to speak out, until police are equipped and trained to properly investigate causes of accidents (including things like measuring blood alcohol content), until we lose this Nigerian mentality of invoking God at our convenience (don’t worry, God will provide, you don’t know why God allowed it to happen, just be grateful to God that you’re alive blah, blah and more blah), and start demanding justice, no matter how tough it is to get, until we shake off our Naija fatigue and stop the ‘live and let live’ attitude, then I’m afraid this law will never be deemed necessary.
That said, I’ve often wondered how come there aren’t more accidents in Lagos on weekend nights. Considering the way people party hard and drink even harder before proceeding to jump behind the wheel in the dead of night and drive across town, one would expect the streets of Ikoyi, VI, Third Mainland and Eko Bridges to constantly be strewn with car debris but that’s hardly ever the case…
By the way, what is the definition of 'an unreasonably long period of time'? 1 hour? 5 hours? 10 days? A year? A lot less ambiguity is needed here methinks...
As far as I know, there are no such things as PUBLIC DISORDER OFFENCES. These offences are PUBLIC ORDER OFFENCES under the Road Traffic Law.
The problem with Nigeria has never been the shortage of legislation and laws. A law is only as good as the capability of the authorities of enforce it properly. For me, what this looks like is another opportunity for devious law enforcement officials to prey on unwitting Lagosians.
More money for Lagos policemen
The liability of passenger is also very funny
Is it me or is a 20 day / 30 month prison sentence not excessive for what is essentially a strict liability offence? Shouldn't the punishment fit the crime, fair enough it's dangerous driving in the wrong direction of a one way street but surely one ought not to be imprisoned on that account. It's ironic that even the laws show a blatant disregard for human life and liberty.
Well u have to understand that the one thing that scares Nigerians into doing the right thing is putting a hefty fine or the threat of imprisonment. There wasn't and still isn't a set law for buckling up before u drive, but once people started getting pulled over and fishing out 10/15 grand for not wearing one....everyone got the picture, even bus drivers were wearing seat belts. Dunno, if they still do though.
Well u have to understand that the one thing that scares Nigerians into doing the right thing is putting a hefty fine or the threat of imprisonment. There wasn't and still isn't a set law for buckling up before u drive, but once people started getting pulled over and fishing out 10/15 grand for not wearing one....everyone got the picture, even bus drivers were wearing seat belts. Dunno, if they still do though.
I think the government needs to do a bit more thinking before implementing this law. How many Nigerians earn up to N250K a month in wages?
The old N200 to get off the hook will not be sufficient at all. Getting caught on a one way street might cost the average man about N50K in bribe to the ordinary police man (because he fears the alternative of going to the station).
It could even create a black market for fake N250K tickets.
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