TheCable

The federal capital territory administration (FCTA) has cautioned motorists against beating traffic lights in Abuja.

Wadata Bodinga, director, traffic management, transportation secretariat, gave the warning on Monday during an interaction with NAN.

Bodinga said anyone found culpable would be sanctioned, noting that violation has reduced by 80 percent.

He explained that efforts are underway to upgrade and activate the traffic lights to enable them capture traffic data in all the junctions within the city.

He added that once the upgrade is concluded, it would enable the traffic lights to pick and record traffic violators in real time — from where the violators’ vehicle details would be transmitted to the traffic control centre.

“Some people are still beating the traffic lights in the city. I can tell you that we are not where we wanted to be, but we are not also where we used to be,” he said.

“This means that once you have beaten the traffic light in FCT, you are doing it at your own peril, because you will pay dearly for the offence.

“You either pay a fine at the point of renewal of vehicle papers or other means which we are still working on. We are looking at all options.

“The intention is to ensure the safety and security of the motoring public in the FCT.”

The director added that the FCTA has put in a lot of effort to ensure that all traffic lights are functional, to reduce accidents, especially on the intersections.

“If you go round the city now, you will see that the traffic lights are installed and functional across the city,” he added.

“This was made possible following FCTA’s robust collaboration with other countries, particularly China, under its China aid project, which provided traffic lights in about 98 junctions under the second phase of the project.

“Also, the FCTA has upgraded the traffic lights in other junctions, about 96 of them, to become accessible online.

“This is a massive improvement, and this is why the turn around maintenance is speedy and direct, because we are able to see a faulty traffic light by just a press of a button in the control centre.”

Bodinga also said battery theft within the city was a major challenge, stating that batteries servicing the traffic lights in about 15 junctions within the city have been stolen so far.

He called on residents to report anyone attempting to tamper with traffic lights.

“We are taking measures to see how we can tackle the situation. We are also calling on residents to report anyone attempting to tamper with the traffic lights to security agencies,” he added.