Rwanda National Police has inaugurated two new lanes at Remera Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre (MIC) in Gasabo District.

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Christian Rwakunda, presided over Tuesday inauguration that brought the number of inspection lanes at the Remera-based facility to five.

The event was also attended by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda, and other senior officers.

Rwakunda commended Police for its efforts in boosting services to control road carnage and promote road safety.

He also pledged continued government support to decentralise the services to the provincial level.

"Vehicle mechanical inspection fits with the transport and road safety national policies, that’s why we are committed to this,” he said.

"Such expansions seek to have a country with vehicles that are fully roadworthy to ensure safer roads for sustainable developmen,” he said.

Rwakunda also commended the initiative for mainstreaming of the registration for inspection on Irembo – an online government services portal.

The Police Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety Department, George Rumanzi, presented statistical impact of the new lanes, saying they will reduce the time a vehicle spends at the centre for inspection.

"On average, the centre 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, daily inspections will increase to between 600 and 700 vehicles per day, while the maximum time one will spend in queue will reduce to 45 minutes,” said Rumanzi.

Of the five lanes, three will be handling only vehicles that weigh less than 3.5 tonnes, while the others will be handling trucks.

Rumanzi said plans are underway to establish other centres in all regions to facilitate motorists operating in the countryside, as well as providing special mechanical inspection equipment for motorcycles.

The centres test gas emission, shock absorber, brakes, axle play detection, headlights, and visual inspection of the vehicle’s body condition, among others.

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

Police statistics show that road traffic accidents reduced by at least 10 per cent in the first nine months of the current year compared to the same period last year.

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