NRSA to provide uniforms to 'Okada' riders after legalisation

The Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has revealed that Okada riders will be required to wear uniforms once the commercial use of motorcycles is legalised.

Speaking in an interview on Hot Issues on TV3, Mr Amaliba added that reflective gear would also be provided alongside the uniforms for easy identification.

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He stated that the riders would undergo road safety education to curb reckless riding, warning that those who violate the regulations would face legal consequences.

They are going to be given uniforms to identify them, we will give them reflectors, then we will prescribe the type of helmet that they will be wearing. The people they pick will also wear the same helmet. The DVLA will give them special number plates and licences, and then the police will enforce the law.

Mr Amaliba further disclosed the government’s plans to introduce speed limit devices and trackers on motorcycles to monitor movements once their operations are legalised.

We are also going to provide them with speed limits. There will be gadgets in their motors that will prevent them from overspeeding. There will also be a tracker in each motorbike. So as you move, wherever your motorbike is going, there will be a computer monitoring you and your movement.

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To ensure better organisation, Mr Amaliba revealed that Okada riders would be required to register under a union as a prerequisite. This, he said, would allow authorities to easily track crimes associated with Okada riders.

We are going to register them in unions. We are not going to have individual Okada riders walking into offices saying, ‘I have a motorbike, I want to register.’ No. You must be with a union, and that union must have its executives so that if you engage in an illegality or a crime and we are looking for you, we will go to the union and fish you out. Things are going to change.

Additionally, District and Metropolitan Assemblies will be required to designate specific areas as Okada stations within cities. Mr Amaliba assured that the legalisation of Okada operations would proceed once the NRSA and the DVLA had put the necessary mechanisms in place and engaged the public on the new regulations.

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