Kigali 7^th October, 2016. On 5^th October, 2016, Rwanda National Police (RNP) launched the new mechanic inspection lanes meant to ease and improve quality service provision and reduce time spent at the vehicle inspection center. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Mr. Christian Rwakunda presided over the official inauguration of the lanes, bringing the number of inspection lanes at Remera-based centre to five.

Rwakunda commended RNP for its efforts in expanding services aimed at controlling road carnage and promoting road safety, and pledged continued government support to decentralize the services to the provincial level. Vehicle mechanical inspection fits with the transport and road safety policies, that is why we are committed to this implementation,” said the Permanent Secretary.

“Such expansions are aiming at having a country with vehicles that are fully roadworthy to ensure safer roads for sustainable development but also an act of environmental protection by controlling gas emissions from vehicles,” he said.

He also commended the initiative for embedding the registration for inspection on Irembo – an online Government services portal to foster quick services in the country.

The Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety Department, Commissioner of Police (CP) George Rumanzi, gave statistical impact of the new lanes saying that they will reduce the time a vehicle was spending at the centre queuing up for inspection and increase the number of inspections per day.

“On average the center was testing between 400 and 500 vehicles a day; a vehicle could wait in the queue between 60 and 90 minutes; with the introduction of these two new lanes, the daily inspections will increase to between 600 and 700 vehicles per day while the maximum time one will spend in the queue will reduce to 45 minutes,” said CP Rumanzi.

Meanwhile, out of the five lanes, three will be handling only vehicles that weigh less than 3.5 tons while others will be handling trucks.

With the establishment of the two new lanes, it has increased the number of lanes to seven including the mobile vehicle and another one located in Gishari, Rwamagana district.

CP Rumanzi said that plans are underway to establish other centres in all regions to facilitate motorists operating in the countryside, as well as acquiring special mechanical inspection equipment for motorcycles. The centres test gas emission, shock absorber, brakes including handbrake, axle play detection, headlights, and visual inspection of the vehicle’s body condition, among others.

Rwanda National Police started its vehicle inspection services in 2008 when the first two lanes were established at Remera MIC, then with the capacity to inspect only 150 vehicles per day.

According to the RNP statistics, road traffic accidents reduced by at least 10 percent in this year’s first nine months compared to the same period last year.