The Federal Road Safety Corps says it will commence full enforcement of installation of speed limiting device in commercial vehicles nationwide on February 1 (today).

This is coming a few months after what it called ‘advisory enforcement’ without apprehending motorists.

The Head, Media Relations and Strategy, FRSC, Bisi Kazeem, told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that sector and field commands of the agency had been fully mobilised for the exercise.

He said the army, police, civil defence and other security agencies were on standby to provide security support for the enforcement.

Kazeem  also stated that mobile courts had been set up nationwide for the purpose, adding that defaulters could pay up to N3,000 as penalty.

He said, “In readiness for the full enforcement tomorrow (Wednesday), the field commands have been fully mobilised nationwide. To facilitate enforcement, a portal for Speed Limiting Device was created and is operational and a short code to confirm the installation of the SLD is active.

“A standard operating procedure has been dispatched with a directive that copies of the standard operating procedure be shared to security agencies within the commands’ areas of jurisdiction.

“A template for daily report has also been designed and forwarded to commands, while booking sheets with ‘Failure to Install Speed Limiting Device’ have been distributed to field commands.”

For effectiveness, Kazeem added that sector commanders had been instructed to carry out joint patrols with unit commands throughout the month of February.

According to him, commands are expected to hold mobile court sittings from the outset, and where mobile courts are likely to slow down the enforcement, they can proceed without them.

“We have created a situation room to monitor and collate reports on a daily basis and trial runs for the clampdown. Sector commands are fully prepared and have made arrangements for security backups and joint patrols with the police, civil defence, army and other security agencies,’’ he said.

Kazeem also  said the high involvement of commercial vehicles in road crashes across the country informed the need to begin the enforcement with them, adding that there was no going back on the policy.

After its initial opposition to the device, the House of Representatives in May last year later endorsed it as part of measures to curb road crashes.

A report of the House Committee on Committee on Federal Road Safety Commission indicated that the FRSC acted within the powers conferred on it by the FRSC Act, 2007, to“implement strategies to safeguard lives and property of road users.”