Legal Nugget: Law on Installation of Speed Limit Devices to Vehicles in Nigeria

The Federal Road Safety Commission’s recent enforcement of the requirement for the installation of Speed Limiting Devices in categories of vehicles in Nigeria is primarily backed and provided for in section 10(3) (m) of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) (Establishment) Act, 2007 and section 152(4) of National Road Traffic Regulation, 2012.

Section 10(3) (m) of the FRSC (Establishment) Act, 2007 (the “Act”) provides that members of the FRSC shall be charged with responsibilities for “determining and enforcing speed limits for all categories of roads and vehicles and controlling the use of speed limit device”; while section 152(4) of National Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (the “Regulation” provides that “A person shall not drive a vehicle on any public road which is not fitted with a speed limiter”. The penalty for the breach of this provision is equally stipulated in Section 152(5) of the Regulation which reads: “Any person who acts in contravention of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000:00 or a term of imprisonment of 3 months or to both”.

Both the Act and the Regulation have been in existence for a while but the FRSC actually started implementing and enforcing the provisions on the installation of speed limit devices around October 2016.

It is however noteworthy to state that generally if an official of FRSC alleges a contravention of a road traffic law, the alleged offender may select to either accept liability and pay the summary fine or contest the charge and request for a trial in a competent court of law.

Adejorin D. Abiona
adejorinabiona@gmail.com