Ikeja, Lagos – A middle-aged man who does not want his identity disclosed shared his experience with some FRSC officers who arrested him for using Google Maps on his phone to get directions while driving.
FRSC officer arrested a man in Lagos for using Google Maps while driving.
Okanlawon Gaffar is a legal luminary whose interests span law and technology, international trade and investment, energy law, corporate governance, maritime, etc.
Besides, he’s an astute researcher and orator. In his free time, he finds interest in annexing his media background with law to navigate everlasting solutions to societal issues to allow the purpose of law in society to materialize- law is a social engineering.
Generally, it’s a crime to use the phone while driving.
Section 166 (1) of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012, which addressed the use of communication devices while driving, states:
The issue of using Google Maps while driving and the involvement of the FRSC officers is an act of executing the already existing regulations and regulations.
Though using Google Maps is more useful to the driver, it’s an act of preventing the high level of concentration that’s required of a driver on the highway.
Of course, the act is an offence under the law. Anyone caught will be liable and punishable for a period of six months in prison or a fine (of N4,000).
Using Google Maps while driving, especially in Lagos, is important due to the city’s notorious traffic congestion and complex road network.
Google Maps provides real-time traffic updates, alternative routes, and estimated arrival times, enabling drivers to navigate efficiently through congested areas and avoid delays.
Moreover, in a city where road signage can be inadequate or confusing, Google Maps offers clear turn-by-turn directions, ensuring drivers stay on the right path.
Boboye Oyeyemi, a traffic management expert and former Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of Federal Road Safety Corps (Nigeria), explained how drivers could safely use Google Maps on their phones while driving and avoid arrest.
The use of Google Maps while driving is allowed, but hand-held driving and usage are offences associated with driving, and anyone caught would face the law squarely.
If you must use Google Maps while driving, you must get a car-holding phone device, which is both for your safety and for better usage of the device and the application.
In another report, a senior FRSC officer known as Ibrahim differentiated between the duties of corp personnel and that of vehicle inspection office (VIO) personnel.
Disclaimer: Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about solving marital problems.
Readers should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any decision.
