CHAPTER ONE
1.0INTRODUCTION
Vehicle
Registration in Nigeria began over 100 years ago and the records have been
essentially manual which in turn has not help to raise the efficiency of
general automotive services in recent years. Today, computer has been
discovered as a very efficient instrument, which has played a very significant
role in adequate management of information. Besides, it has played more roles
in country. However, computerization has helped in many areas of life and due
to vehicle owners, the thought of computerization of this operation becomes of
great important in order to wipe out the manual data processing system from
which many problem have originated. The problems, which have engulfed the
objectives of motor vehicles registration, are extensively discussed in this project
together with the new method that was innovated. This work is conducted towards
the computerization of the various problems in processing data in order to
identify the various problems that are been encountered in the registration of
vehicles manually. This theory also compares the existing system with the new
system, which is exact, and a faster way of processing data and the problem
faced by customers when they are registering their vehicles. There are
different programs that can be written to develop such programs, PASCAL, JAVA.
VISUAL BASIC, and C++ etc. But I will be making use of PHP, Database (MySQL)
they are both working with Apache server (Xamp). The Software design used
Macromedia Dreamweaver, firework, flash, and switchmax.
The World is experiencing an
information knowledge revolution that is fundamentally transforming the way in
which human activities are carried out. Government’s worldwide are adopting e
-government as a means of improving their services to businesses and citizens,
promoting economic and social development, and enhancing the effectiveness and
efficiency of government operations.
Computer plays vital role in the development of any
company it also saves some of its complex problem that is been faced by man and
processes voluminous data within a short period of time or at an incredible
speed. Recent emphasis on information and data processing in most of our
business has grown adversely as in the case of motor vehicle license and plate
registration. In as much as motor vehicle registration has been in existent for
ages now, the old system of registration has been in adoption which did not
play a significant role on highway safety until the development of the new
system of vehicle registration where a reflective sheeting which is more
visible to read even in the dark. This new system of motor vehicle and plate
number registration, which is the main focus of this project, came into
existent on the 19th March 1997 and handled by the motor licensing officer. It
was introduced to enforce strict compliance to traffic rules and regulation as
well as providing a proper data as to the behavior of road users. The roles,
which the introduction of computer system will play in this function, will
about more efficiency, effectiveness and improve competence.
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Vehicle Registration in
Nigeria began over 100 years ago and the records have been essentially manual
which in turn has not help to raise the efficiency of general automotive
services in recent years. Motor licensing office Abuja only focuses on vehicle
registration and inspection, and not on other supporting services such as
vehicle tracking, learner’s driving permission, and drivers’ license
management, monitoring of drivers and vehicles operations and documentation of
both accident and crime report.
Vehicle registration in
the city, state, and district offices burdened applicants by requiring them to
personally deliver the certified copy of resident’s registration and other
documents.
Vehicle Registration used
to involve manual recording of vehicle’s information which ranges from cars to
buses and later to trucks and heavy duty equipment on ledgers and tracking
other related information such as registration, road worthiness test
certificates, change of ownership, engine and chassis numbers; and expiration
of road license. This process has been extremely inefficient and the recovery
of the information was not possible once ledgers were damaged or lost as it
frequently occurs.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
These are the problems that are being encountered in
the manual system of assigning a plate number to newly acquired vehicle in the
department of vehicle licensing and registration, (Licensing office Abuja). The
limited factors listed below have slowed realization of the good
intention:
(i)
Participation of
Unauthorized Officers: Unauthorized offices according to my observation are
involved in this work especially in the registration of illegal vehicles which
can encourage fraud.
(ii)
Wrong Charging
of Fees: The officer in-charge is bound to charge a wrong bill to vehicle
owners, which may be as a result of underassessment or over assessment of
vehicles. This could be with motive to commit fraud or as a result of mistake
on the part of the officer at work.
(iii)
Wrong Sales
Allocation: Staff under a particular state motor vehicle licensing office
indulges in registering of vehicles that does not belong to their state.
(iv)
Improper
Accounting: There is the tendency of the cashier involved in the handling
of income generated to make mistake during this process, thus having some
measures of inaccuracy in the work.
(v)
There is difficulty at times in tracing a
record/information cautioning a vehicle owner due to improper information
keeping as a result of carelessness or volume in the size of record kept.
(vi)
Mental/Manual
Labor: This involves the use of strength and Brain and the body. The
officer in-charge goes through mental labor because he has to sort the records
of the entire vehicle in his domain of jurisdiction.
He suffers from Manual labor because he has to write
all the way.
(vii)
Excess Time
Consumption: There is excessive time consumption because the motor
licensing officer has to write and enter the information of the vehicle after
the person whose vehicle is to be registered has paid a prescribed amount of
money to the licensing authority accompanied with duly completed application,
depending on the type of vehicle, write personal information about the person
whose vehicle is to be registered and the category of vehicle whether
commercial, privates, special purpose and so on, then your plate
number and vehicle license is prepared after a given period of
time.
When put together, the time spent on all of these is much.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF
THE STUDY
As we have seen from the statement of the problems, the
things that stand’s as puzzle in the manual system of motor vehicle
registration aims at introducing a better system which is the computerized
system which will contribute in providing solution to the problems.
i.
To reduce the amount of time spent in registration of
motor vehicle and information for all the vehicle owners.
ii.
To ensure a very high level of accuracy during
registration of certain vehicle or category of vehicles that are prone to
errors in the manual system. iii. To
develop a system that will allow for the generation and assignment of an
infinite identification mark or number (that is, the vehicle plate number). iv.
To replace the manual system of
registration with a computerized system that will make registration simple and
easy for registration officer and vehicle owner.
v.
To provide restriction of illegal access of this
program will be limited therefore password will be created for the application
software. This password will just be limited to the officer in charge of the
work.
vi.
This also aims at giving an up-to-date report of the
revenue generates from vehicle registration within a defined period.
1.4
SCOPE OF STUDY
The application of this
study is a must for any country that wants to be Information and Communication
Technology inclined and ready to reduce the vehicle crime rate and corruption
in her system. The scope of this study should be for Liaison Offices and
organizations like (Motor licensing office Abuja) that issue vehicle licenses
and other vehicle registration documents.
1.5
LIMITATONS OF THE STUDY
In as much as I have so many areas where one could have
covered for a wider generalization of result. Some factors have posed as an
obstacle to this, and some of these constraints are as follows:
i.
Finance:
This contributed in my project research since there was much money exhausted in
moving to and fro to gather facts for this work.
ii.
Time: As
students where probably involved in schoolwork like writing of assignment
quizzes and other engagement, thus there isn’t enough time to attend classes.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Due to the constant rise in technology, it is necessary to use
computer to
Process voluminous data within a short period
of time or at an incredible speed. This project is to help provide efficiency,
effectiveness and improve competence issuance of vehicle license, plate number
and other related activities. The importance of this study includes:
i.
To expedite the efficiency of principal licensing
officer in the processing of vehicle registration documents.
ii.
To develop a method that will allow easy storage
and retrieval of vehicle and owner’s registration information at any time in
the future.
iii.
To develop a highly accurate method of generating
and assigning plate numbers and how to interpret them.
iv.
To determine the easiest and fastest way to access
vehicle owner’s registration information and missing vehicles.
v.
To enable security agencies find missing vehicles.
vi.
To develop an easy method for generating and
assigning plate numbers or identification mark.
1.7
ASSUMPTION OF THE STUDY
One of the major assumptions made in this study work is
that manual methods of keeping records are ineffective, time wasting, prone to
error and unsecured. It is also assumed that computerized base systems will
motivate the staff members to work more effectively and efficiently when
registering vehicles and other activities. I also believe that the facts and
observation gotten from the office are all reliable for the study to be a very
successful one.
1.8
DEFINITION OF TERMS/VARIABLES
The following are some of the terminologies used in the
project work.
Vehicle Plate Number: This is a
metallic or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle for official
identification purposes. The number is made up of alphanumeric characters or
numbers.
Vehicle Registration: is the process
where we add a vehicle’s details to the motor vehicle register and issue its
registration plates. You have to license your vehicle regularly at least
annually and you must display a current license label on your vehicle
windscreen.
Vehicle Licensing: A regular fee paid
to permit the use of one’s vehicle on the public roads. The fee helps to pay
for road projects and road safety programs. Your vehicle must be both
registered and licensed for you to legally drive it on the road.
Vehicle owner: is a person who has met
up with the entire necessary requirement for owning a vehicle and has the right
to drive it on public roads.
Vehicle
Registration and Enquiry Software (VehRES) System: This is application software that is a customizable data
collection system, which can be used by law enforcement and motor vehicle
agencies (i.e. Liaison Offices) nationwide. The VehRES are compatible with both
laptop and desktop personal computers (PC) can be used to collect registered
vehicle information for registration, renewal, updating, correction and
tracking.
Licensing office: A place where vehicle registration, licenses and other
vehicle related documents are performed.
Licensing
officers: Is a person who registers vehicles in the licensing office.
Vehicle: A mechanically propelled and
wheeled object used for conveyance.
Computerization:
Introduction of the use of computer in an application area by writing a program
that will suit the work.
ICT: This is an acronym for Information and Communication
Technology.
Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC): They serve as law enforcement agency charged with
responsibilities for, among others, policymaking, organization and
administration of road safety in Nigeria.
E-Government: There is no one common definition of E – Government,
although the term is widely used. (Norris, 2005) view E – Government as a
technology exercise, integrating individual database and websites of
government, while (Batschneider, 1990) view it as a means of bringing the
government closer to the common citizen through provision of public services
online.
Driver’s
license or driving license is an
official document, which states that a person may operate a motorized
vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. The laws
relating to the licensing of drivers vary between jurisdictions. In some
jurisdictions, a license is issued after the recipient has passed a driving test, while in
others; a person acquires a license before beginning to drive. Different
categories of license often exist for different types of motor vehicles,
particularly large trucks and passenger vehicles. The difficulty of the driving
test varies considerably between jurisdictions, as do factors such as age and
the required level of practice
AutoReg Vehicle license: Is the
automated vehicle license registration and renewal system, which is for all
vehicle owners to register or renew their vehicle license with the state
government. It is renewed annually; it shows the details of the vehicle owner
and Vehicle details.