Psychiatric test for traffic law offenders

In its determined effort to check the excesses of drivers on our roads, the leadership of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said it will commence the enforcement of psychiatric test on traffic law offenders from July 1, 2017.
This was revealed by the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, at the opening of a recent five-day training programme for 22 FRSC officials in Abuja.
The proposed test, according to Oyeyemi, will focus on four areas of violations, including use of phone while driving, beating traffic light, route violations and dangerous driving. The Corps Marshall also said that the move became necessary because of continued violations in the identified four areas, despite efforts by the Corps to change the behaviour of motorists through education and enforcement.
For the smooth take-off of the psychiatric test, the FRSC has had a strategic session with its commanding officers, who were directed to start the referral of all these classes of offenders to various government hospitals for checks of their mental state from the effective date.
Oyeyemi pointed out that the purpose of the mental examination for offenders was not to generate revenue but to engender attitudinal change. He said that the FRSC was empowered by its enabling Act to undertake the proposed psychiatric examination on violators of the stipulated traffic laws.
The idea of subjecting traffic offenders to psychiatric tests may appear good in view of the penchant of Nigerian drivers for committing traffic offences. However, forcing traffic offenders to take such a test will be injurious in the long run. Apart from stigmatisation and other connotations of such a mental examination, it is ridiculous that anyone would be forced to take such as a test as a punitive measure for a traffic law infraction.
Such a test would be a violation of the people’s right to the dignity of their person. It is doubtful if such strange sanctions are imposed on drivers anywhere in the world, and the FRSC would do well to furnish Nigerians with examples of where such crude and inhuman punishment is meted out to traffic offenders in the developed world. Although it appears the idea of such a sanction was proposed and, possibly, briefly implemented in one of the states many years ago, it has since given way to better reasoning.
We can, however, understand the frustrations of the FRSC officials, who see some drivers breaking the same traffic laws over and over again. But, subjecting such offenders to psychiatric test is extreme. Apart from generating revenue for the hospitals, we see no redeeming feature in the mental test. It will only boost the number of people who can be stigmatised as ‘mad’ in the country. We understand the gravity of driving against traffic, making phone calls while driving, indiscriminately changing lanes and disregarding traffic lights. But, the solution to these problems does not lie in subjecting the offenders to mental tests. It will be better if the FRSC gives this proposal more thought and consults other stakeholders, including motorists, before implementing it, to see if it is worth the effort.
Our advice is that the agency should jettison the idea in view of its obvious drawbacks. Other than psychiatric test, the FRSC can impose fines or other punishments that will not bring stigma to traffic offenders. Any punishment given to traffic offenders should be corrective. We do not see how psychiatric test is corrective. The offenders can be suspended from driving for some months. The driving licences of such habitual offenders can be withdrawn for a stipulated period. Strict enforcement of such sanctions will bring the desired attitudinal change in habitual traffic offenders.
Psychiatric test should be for people who are strongly believed to have serious mental problems. It should not be administered at will and medical tests are generally not administered on people against their will. Even if this practice is allowed by the FRSC enabling Act, Oyeyemi should not invoke it. Let the Corps embark on sustained public education on those four aforementioned areas of traffic law violations and faithfully implement the extant legal provisions for such infractions.
We believe that such public enlightenment will bring about the desired attitudinal change in our drivers. The FRSC should not in any way trivialise medical tests, especially one that has to do with determining one’s mental state. Warnings can be part of punishment to traffic law offenders. Psychiatric test is usually done on doctor’s advice and not because one has committed a traffic offence. Beyond being a laughable proposition, Nigerians will reject it. The FRSC should face its core mandate, which is to ensure safety on our roads and think less of subjecting Nigerians to unconventional medical tests.