Every car owner and driver in Nigeria should know of traffic offences within the country and the penalties attached to them.
We have compiled a list of these offences and penalties to serve as a guide for you and help you avoid troubles with traffic wardens. Knowledge is power, they say!
If you stay in certain places in Nigeria, Lagos, you must have encountered a traffic warden once or at more times, given that you drive.
However, suppose you do not have a concrete knowledge of these traffic offences. In that case, everything the traffic warden says will sound utterly foreign because you won’t be able to make head or tail of everything.
However, it is pretty normal as many people do not know how about these offences and regulations or the consequences of evading or contradicting them.
The federal road safety corps (FRSC) has been disguised with the responsibility to ensure orderliness and traffic sanity among Nigerian drivers.
They make the road safe for all and sundry, educate road users, and punish traffic offenders with fines or penalties. They go after road users/drivers with impaired driving or that commit traffic offences.
However, their role is limited to just federal roads, interstate roads, expressways and federal government-built flyovers. State roads are way beyond their reach.
Before we point out the traffic offences, there are some terms you need to get familiar with first off.
1. Tick infringements- these are the traffic offences that attract a fine or penalty points.
2. Code- this is the abbreviation or the shortening of a tick infringement
3. Penalty points- it can also be referred to as just points. It is what they give to traffic offenders, and it accumulates by every offence. There is a maximum point that a driver can get to, and that driver exceeds that point, his license could be withdrawn or suspended.
4. Penalty- this is the fine that offenders pay after committing an offence.
5. Category- this is the section that traffic offences and their punishments fall into in the traffic constitution/law.
TRAFFIC OFFENCES AND THEIR PENALTIES
We have compiled a list of these offences and penalties to serve as a guide for you and help you avoid troubles with traffic wardens. Knowledge is power, they say!
If you stay in certain places in Nigeria, Lagos, you must have encountered a traffic warden once or at more times, given that you drive.
However, suppose you do not have a concrete knowledge of these traffic offences. In that case, everything the traffic warden says will sound utterly foreign because you won’t be able to make head or tail of everything.
However, it is pretty normal as many people do not know how about these offences and regulations or the consequences of evading or contradicting them.
The federal road safety corps (FRSC) has been disguised with the responsibility to ensure orderliness and traffic sanity among Nigerian drivers.
They make the road safe for all and sundry, educate road users, and punish traffic offenders with fines or penalties. They go after road users/drivers with impaired driving or that commit traffic offences.
However, their role is limited to just federal roads, interstate roads, expressways and federal government-built flyovers. State roads are way beyond their reach.
Before we point out the traffic offences, there are some terms you need to get familiar with first off.
1. Tick infringements- these are the traffic offences that attract a fine or penalty points.
2. Code- this is the abbreviation or the shortening of a tick infringement
3. Penalty points- it can also be referred to as just points. It is what they give to traffic offenders, and it accumulates by every offence. There is a maximum point that a driver can get to, and that driver exceeds that point, his license could be withdrawn or suspended.
4. Penalty- this is the fine that offenders pay after committing an offence.
5. Category- this is the section that traffic offences and their punishments fall into in the traffic constitution/law.
TRAFFIC OFFENCES AND THEIR PENALTIES
- Light and sign violation- these look like two different offences, but they are grouped and attract the same punishment. It involves the failure to use the car’s lights at night and also the failure to obey road signs. Its code is LSV, and the penalty point is 2. So it attracts a 2,000naira fine at least, and its category is 2.
- Road obstruction is the obstruction of the road/highway by not parking well, parking a faulty vehicle abnormally to repair it, using objects to block the way in a way that other vehicles will be affected. The code for this is ROB with two penalty points. It attracts a 2,000naira fine, and its category is 1.
- Route violation- this offence is when you do not make use of the correct route. Its code is RTV, and its point is 5. It attracts a 5,000naira fine, and its category is 1.
- Speed limit violation- it occurs when a driver does not use the correct speed limit for the road or exceed the maximum limit. Its code is SLV, and its point is 3. It attracts a fine of 3,000naira at least, and its category is 1.
- Vehicle license violation: the offence occurs when a driver drives a vehicle with an already expired license or has no license. Its code is VLV, and its point is 3. It attracts a 3,00naira fine at least, and its category is 3.
- Vehicle plate number violation- this offence occurs when you use the wrong plate number, or your vehicle has no plate number at all. The code for this is NPV, and its penalty point is 3. It attracts a 3,000naira fine, and its category is 1.
- Vehicle license violation- you commit this offence when driving a vehicle without a license or with a forged license. The code for it is VLV, and its penalty point is 3. It attracts a fine of 3,000naira, and its category is 2.
- Wrong overtaking- this offence is committed when you try to overtake another vehicle in an unlawful manner that could cause an accident. Its code is WOV, and its penalty point is 3. It attracts a fine of 3000naira, and its category is 1.
- Road marking violation- you commit this offence when as a driver, you ignore road marks. The code for this is RMV, and its penalty point is 5. It attracts a fine of 5,000naira under the category of 1.
- Caution sign violation- if a driver ignores any caution sign on the road, he commits this offence. The code for this is CSV, and its penalty point is 3. Therefore, it attracts a 3,000naira fine, and it is under category 3.
- Dangerous driving- driving recklessly on the road makes you commit this offence. Its code is DGD with ten penalty points. It attracts a fine of 50,000naira, and it is under category 1.
- Dangerously driving under drug and alcohol influence- this offence is explanatory enough. Its code is DUI with five penalty points. It attracts a 5,000naira fine, and it is under category 1.
- Driving a vehicle with forged documents- the code for this offence is OFD with ten penalty points. In addition, it attracts 20,000 naira fine and is under category 2.
- Unauthorized removing or tampering with road signs- this offence here uses the code UTS with five penalty points. Its fine is 5,000naira, and it is under category 1.
- Movement violation- when a traffic warden or traffic light stops you, but you move, you have committed this offence. Its code is DNM, and its penalty point is 2. You get to pay a 2,000naira fine for this under category 2.
- Inadequate construction warning- this offence is committed when there is a construction project towards the road, but the project owners do not place an adequate warning for this. Its code is ICW with a 50,000naira sign under category 1.
- Violation of construction area speed limit- if you violate the speed limit while passing a construction area, you would be committing this offence. Its code is CAV, and its penalty point is 3. You get charged a fine of 3,000naira under category 1.
- Failure to move over the code for this is FMO, and it has three penalty points. First, it attracts a 3,000naira fine under category 1.
- Failure to cover unstable materials- the code for this FCM and attracts five penalty points. Its fine is 5,000 naira under category 1.
- Overloading- this offence’s code is OVL with ten penalty points. It attracts a 10,000naira fine under category 1.