FCTA begins e-ticketing, central booking of traffic offenders

The Directorate of Road Traffic Services, DRTS, Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has commenced e-ticketing and central booking of traffic offenders in the territory.

Its Director, Dr. Abdullateef Bello, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the inauguration of the initiative designed to drive road traffic enforcement in the FCT.

The court also barred the directorate from stopping vehicles and imposing fines.

Acknowledging the development, Bello said that the directorate had appealed the court judgement.

He added that, in the meantime, the directorate had resorted to using technological devices to enforce traffic rules, which, he said, had legal backing.

He explained that the FCT Transportation Secretariat’s extant laws allowed DRTS to use devices to maintain safety on the roads across the territory.

Bello said that DRTS had acquired technological devices that would record traffic infractions and immediately issue electronic tickets to offenders within a few minutes.

He said that the new system, which would be efficient in tracking and penalizing road traffic offences, was designed to reduce physical interface between enforcement officers and motorists.

“Henceforth, all violators of traffic rules will now be booked electronically and expected to pay the fine within seven days.

“If they fail to pay the fine within the stipulated period, their vehicles will be impounded.

“DRTS will not be stopping vehicles at random. The devices will select those that are violating our traffic rules,” he said.

The director added that the enforcement officers had been trained on how to use the devices, adding that a simulation exercise had also been carried out for a real-time experience.