CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Traffic laws and regulations in Nigeria were inherited from colonial administration. The

first Edith is the 1920 Road Traffic Ordinance of Lagos Colony and Southern Protectorate of

Nigeria which was applied to the operations of all motor vehicles until the country was

demarcated into regions (Northern, Western and Eastern). Thereafter, each region was

empowered to promulgate its traffic regulations. Before 1939, vehicle inspection was carried out

by the Directorate of works, while Motor Licensing was supervised by the Motor Licensing

office under finance. As a result of critical issue with the colonial regiment of England during

the world war, the Inspector General of Police was mandated to undertake the responsibility of

vehicle inspection as well as motor licensing until the 1958 constitution of Nigeria which

conferred powers on regional (state) government to create their own traffic laws.

On 1st January 1949, the road Traffic Act was promulgated which is available to the

Road Traffic Act chapter 548 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (1990). It is this Act (1949) that

gave birth to Vehicle Inspection Office. Vehicle registration is the process of adding a vehicle to

the motor vehicle register and issuing it with registration plates. Vehicle licensing is the payment

of a fee for the use of motor vehicle on public roads. When the fee is paid, you receive a label

indicating the expiry date of the license. This label must be displayed on the vehicle.

In Nigeria, there are three arms of government agencies that are responsible for automobile

licensing, registration and control. They are Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the state

Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) and the state Board of Internal Revenue (BIR). The usual

practice is for an owner to visit these three arms for the necessary payment, data collection and

issuance of necessary documents and materials such as plate numbers. The state board of internal

revenue collects fees for new automobile licenses and registration from owners through a

designated bank. They may request more documents such as custom papers, purchase receipt, or

a change of owner certificate on automobile.

Every automobile within the nation must be registered under a state and a local

government before a license plate is issued. Nigerian automobile registration plates often have

the state written at the top and have a group of three letters at the right hand side, indicating the

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district of registration followed by their main town to aid in tracing and identifying location.

License plates serve to help law enforcement, motor vehicle authorities and others identify a

vehicle while simultaneously indicating that the registrant has paid the proper registration fee

and taxes on the automobile. License plates also offer information such as the weight class, the

country, state and local government in which the vehicle is registered, use restrictions (private or

commercial) and the age and engine capacity. In addition, some license plates show whether the

owner of the vehicle is a member of special organization or group such as the police force,

custom and the federal road safety commission. Moreover proof of ownership certificates are

issued to owners of automobiles on payment of certain fee by the board.

Apart from other advantages, this will now replace the manual process of registering

vehicle, issuing during licensing, renewing expired licenses, as well changing of ownership of

the vehicle. Since the computerize mode of operation is flexible and accurate record keeping

assured, it will give the management of the motor licensing authority enough time for planning

and decision making rather than being immersed in the detail of routing function (manual work).

This is necessary since the control of any establishment alternatively lies in the hand of

management. Also, the computerized operations of the licensing authority will ensure a very fast

retrieval of necessary information about (e.g.) vehicle information to the police in terms of

urgent need like during that of road accident.

In this research work, interaction will be created on the computerization and

implementation of motor vehicle licensing authority at the three level organization; vehicle

inspection officer, (VIO), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Board of Internal

revenue, which are required to monitor the processes that are involved starting from the exact

date of motor vehicle is registered, licensed, renewed, etc. In the early 80s, the vehicle licensing

system then was that each vehicle was licensed based on the local government issuing the

licenses. For instance, a vehicle licensed from Ikorodu could bear (LAG 28 IKD) as plate

number. Later with the formation of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in February

18, 1988, many procedures were changed, the plate number format and their various slogans.

Also it was made constitutional under the motor vehicle administration as a Residual issue under

the 1999 Nigerian constitution that a person seeking for vehicle licensing must first possess the

National driving license.

Motor vehicle administration is a composite process and revolves around the management

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and the control of motor licensing including driving and other related licenses which

include the following matters:

1. Issuance and renewal of:

Motor vehicle licenses

Local driving license

Learners permit

Certificate of Roadworthiness of all licenses issued

2. Registration of vehicle

3. Preparing and keeping of statutory Registers of all licenses issued.

In a highly populated country such as Nigeria, where a number of car owners increases yearly,

and the registration of motor vehicle is a slow process and sometimes in the sense of it a difficult

task. This is true in the sense that motor vehicle licensing authority/ system attend to thousands

of cars per year; thereby keeping records of license and their registrations manually was a

tedious work. It resulted in files containing records of application being misplaced, damaged or

misfiled due to the way the manual method of writing these records. Also writing records of

applicants in books affected the span of the record materials, and since the continue use and re-

use of these booklets everyday might lead to wear and tear which eventually led to loss of

important information.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The basic problems facing motor vehicle licensing are: lack of proper security in the

system that creates avenue for fraud and manipulation of stored data in the system, lack of

proper, accurate and concise information about the vehicle owner, poor performance of the

system during information retrieval due to inefficient storage of data, lack of proper and accurate

record keeping of stored information and finally lack of review process: this is a situation where

there is no avenue created for review. This hinders adequate maintenance of the system.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aims of this study are:

To develop software that will link by computerization all the procedures of motor vehicle

licensing system in motor license authority (that is, to have a centralized system).

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To improve the system performance and efficiency.

To enhance the database for proper information and record keeping.

To provide a reliable security access in order to avoid tempering with stored data.

To provide a means of accessibility in case of accident and emergency.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study is to serve better than the existing system, enhance

database and improve effectiveness, efficiency and security of the system. Also to give

appropriate attention and quick access to prospective application. It is also intended that the

study will assist in the development of a new and hopefully better computer aided system.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research work is restricted to motor vehicle licensing procedure that can take place in

the motor licensing office. This procedure involves an individual registering to obtain vehicle

license if the client meets up with the procedure.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) was established in February 1988 with the

statutory mandate to reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of road traffic crash and the

consequent human and material losses among other functions includes designing the driver’s.

license to be used by the various categories of vehicle operators, and designing vehicle plate

identification numbers and controlling the use of speed limiting devices. In January 1991, the

FRSC introduced a new harmonized design which was implemented nationwide reflecting the

following, super-imposed codes for various categories of vehicles, description parameters to

show colour of vehicle and previous registration (where applicable), and Republic counterfoil to

enhance documentation and auditing.

In January 1993, National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS) was introduced with

the retro-reflective number plates coming into force. The new vehicle number plate is

standardized with full security features and produced in a secured environment by the

commission in collaboration with Governments, Military, Paramilitary and Diplomatic Missions.

Among its security features are; colour-coded to distinguish categories of vehicles and

Reflectivity at night under normal vehicle lamp.

Josephine Lahore (2005) stated that the greatest failure of the FRSC is its inability to

realize this target with the result that it is still possible for any person living or dead to obtain

multiple drivers’ license. Driver’s license remains a huge racket for road safety officers, revenue

officials and the touts that litter licensing offices.

Cronkhite (1974), stated that automation is not a panacea but rather just a tool for; rapid

correlation of crime and criminal information from massive amounts of data, quickly locating

and dispatching field forces, storing, correlating, manipulating and retrieving massive amounts of

data accurately and promptly, speedily transmitting and interchanging and information from field

personnel to data files and from one agency to another.

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Transport system represents a major interface between the location of activities and the

general movement of people in an urban system (Pratelli and Brebbia, 2001). Hitherto, urban

transport problems are becoming more and more acute in the cities in Nigeria (Oladipo, 2001).

World Health Organization (2002) recently articulated that health concerns related to

traffic and transportation have become a worldwide phenomenon and will likely become more of

an issue in the future. Findings from other recent studies that stress from transportation may

represent an important factor that will influence the well being of urban population (Pratelli,

2001; Gee and Takeuchi, 2004).

The second half of the 20th century witnessed rapid rate of urbanization, an emergence

of cities in various parts of Nigeria due to a number of factors among which are: introduction of

wheeled transportation, particularly railway and roads; categorization of settlement into

hierarchical order of development; introduction of monetized economy and consequently

production of cash crops and exploitation of mineral resources; continuous geopolitical

restructuring, through creation of states and local governments in 1967, 1976, 1987, 1991 and

1995; and the industrialization process between 1960 and 1975, which was based on import

substitution strategies and consumer market for imported goods and services (Ogundeji, 1982).

Quality is a major factor for data collection in vehicle registration. In Nigeria, vehicle

Registration data such as vehicle license, car insurance, driver’s license, and other vehicle related

document are usually collected by officials of both the Federal Road Safety commission (FRSC)

and the state liaison office for both the federal and state government respectively. Sometimes,

the data forms are collected away from the scene. These data collected often have problems

including errors, incomplete information, illegibility due to poor handwriting, and errors due to

multiple data entries at various levels. The data obtained might not be of acceptable quality.

Keller, (2001) defined data quality as accuracy, precision, timeless, and completeness of

the data. The various components of quality listed by Keller are ascertainment (completeness of

data coverage), consistency of coverage, missing data, appropriate level of detail, correct entry

procedure, and freedom from response error. Viva et al (2011) defined data quality as a set of

dimension which includes accuracy, precision, completeness, coverage, timeless, and

consistency.

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AutoReg is an automated vehicle Licensing and Renewal system in Nigeria. It is a

proprietary, web based, business solution developed by Courteville Business Solutions PLC, to

address the inefficiencies of the motor-vehicle administration system in Nigeria. However,

AutoReg succeeded in helping government generate accrued revenue by using a designated

banking system for payment of tax and licensing fees but never solved the problem of security

and inspection of vehicles. The most commonly observed attributes of data quality are data

accuracy, data completeness, data consistency, and timeless of the data.

2.2 DATA ACCURACY

The vehicle registration data collected is of great importance and is the main sources of

vehicle identification information. The vehicle registration data collected recorded by the

officials of both the FRSC and the state liaison office includes;

The information about the vehicle

Characteristics of the vehicle

Residential information of the owner

Driver license number

Number plate

Vehicle Engine number

Chassis Number.

The duty of the official at commission/state liaison office is not only to collect data. But the

primary task of an officer is to create relevant information for updating, correction, renewal and

tracking. During this process, some critical vehicle data and evidence might be lost, removed, or

replaced during these routing procedures.

Accuracy includes every observation. All errors in vehicle registration data, especially

miscoding some data elements such as vehicle owner, owner’s address and location model,

chassis and engine number, vehicle-appropriate conclusions or inability to use the data due to

lack of integrity.

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2.3 CONSISTENCY OF REGISTRATION DATA

Consistency can be defined as the uniform interpretation of data elements reported by

different Vehicle Registration Agencies. The degree to which data are free from variation or

contradiction. Consistency is also a measure of the extent to which a set of data satisfies a set of

requirements. The consistency problems stand as the major issue for statewide and a national

database system since inconsistent data make analysis difficult and are the potential causes of

incorrect interpretation. The Federal Road Safety Commission Report of 1998 identifies the lack

of consistency as being a significant vehicle registration data related problem and indicates that

consistency problems typically occur due to significant differences in crash element definition

and their attributes vehicles and the difference of reporting threshold from one state to the next or

within state. Inconsistencies can also occur when different officers have different interpretations

of how to complete a form response.

2.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING DATA QUALITY

INSTITUTIONAL FACTOR

Lack of funding for such services as data collection, processing and so on.

Inadequate communication among various organizations in data collection and

processing in a state.

Institutional memory loss due to change of people who compose or operate the database

Failure to update data collection procedures as data needs and documentation vary over

time.

OFFICER RELATED FACTORS

Difference levels of importance given for reporting, administering vehicle registration

document depending on the personality involved.

Tendency to do least amount of work assigned.

Poor hand-working, misspelled or incorrect street names, etc

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH AND DESIGN METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In order to achieve the goal and objective of this project, the methodology of this research is

summarized under the following headings;

i. Method of data collection

ii. The technical perspective

3.2 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Various data were needed for the successful completion of this research and several

methods were employed to collect relevant data.

3.2.1 Primary Source

Interviews were carried out with officers of various vehicle related offices like Vehicle

Inspection Officers (VIO) in Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and also extended to road users both

the commercial bus drivers and individual private car users. This is a direct one on one

communication process with an individual or organization involves so as acquiring data about

the project of study.

3.2.2 Secondary Source: Consultation of magazines, journals, newspaper and library

were carried out and data were collected. Reference to important and relevant documentation of

the Ogun State licensing office (Oke-Imosan.) were made, information required to complete this

study were also gathered from the Ogun State motor licensing office board library. This

information which was well detailed and comprehensive aided the course of this project.

3.3 DESIGN METHODOLOGY

While executing the design process, there exist tools preferences for the system development

with reasons to justify why these tools are selected. We concluded to use one of the Object

Oriented Programming Language called Java by installing its development kit JDK and Wamp

database server for MySql database development of the system to store and easily retrieval of

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Application Design Interface(s) Using Java ProgrammingLocalhost Connection Using ODBC Data sourceWAMP (MYSQL) server data repository Design

data. These two Software tools are interconnected with an object to database connecting tools

provided by every computer system known as the ODBC Data Source for connecting the

Application Interfaces to MySql Database by Installing MySql Odbc Connector. The diagram

below shows the interactive link and flow between these tools:

3.3.1 SOFTWARE DESIGN TOOL: Java is an object based programming language

used to design both system and application software. It is an advance development

programming that succeeds C, and C++. The major reason behind the choice of java over all

other programming language is that it is capable of executing on any system platform, and it

filters out memory that are not being used after building and compilation is being done.

3.3.2 DATABASE TOOL: Database is needed for easily storage, retrieval, and update of

data-items generally refers to as a repository for data. There are several choices of databases

but the one being chosen as a database choice is MySql due to the luxurious acquisition of

data, its flexibility in querying of database, and its nonselective connection to all computer

object oriented languages (it is compatible with any object oriented programming language).

3.3.3 ODBC DATA SOURCE: The ODBC simply means Object Database Connectivity,

it is a tool supported by all computer system developed passing the normal standards to

supports all database relation with object oriented programming languages while there exists

the subjected database connector (after installation). It is the system registrar that keeps track

of available databases in a system.

Figure 3.1: System Tools Data Connection Mode

3.4 DATABASE DESIGN ARCHITECTURE

The system architecture only use and recognize a single database, this database is named

“vehicleslicense” which consists of two database tables for storing license registration associated

records which is majorly the drivers information and cars, although user management

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Vehicleslicense (Database Name)

User (Table) Vehicleslicense (Table)

information is stored for access level restriction. Each of the table communicates with the system

interface for example; if you are register new license update drivers details or renew registered

license number, the system will communicate with vehicleslicense table. The figure below

represents the hierarchical structure of the system database. The database comprises of two tables

to store two different records which are the application user and vehicle license

Figure 3.2: Database Hierarchy

3.4.1: Vehicles license: for the storage of vehicleslicense registration and update during renewal.

It contains thirteen columns which entail the id, license_number, car_name, vehicles_chases,

address, vehicle make, vehicle model, chases number, model year, vehicle_engine_capacity,

vehicle_colour, status, and registration date. The table in figure 3.2.1 below shows the data

description of each column that made up the vehicleslicense table.

SN ATTRUBUTES TYPE OF

DATA

LENGTH CONSTRAINTS

1 Id INTEGER 10 Primary key, Auto

Increment

2 Plate_Number VARCHAR 20 Unique

3 Car_Name VARCHAR 30

4 Vehicles Chases VARCHAR 25

5 Address VARCHAR 50

6 Vehicle_Make VARCHAR 30

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7 Vehicle_Model VARCHAR 30

8 Chases_Number VARCHAR 30

9 Model_Year VARCHAR 15

10 Vehicle_Engine_Capacity INTEGER 10

11 Vehicle_Color VARCHAR 30

12 Status VARCHAR 20

13 Registration_Date VARCHAR 15

14 Transaction Date VARCHAR 15

15 Expiry Date VARCHAR 15

Figure 3.2.1: The table description of vehicleslicense attributes

3.4.2 User: this table is developed to store records of all staff or users that can access the system.

It consists of attributes like the full name, username, password, status, question, and response.

The table in figure 3.2.2 below shows the data description of each column that made up the user

table.

SN ATTRUBUTES TYPE OF DATA LENGTH CONSTRAINTS

1 id INTEGER 10 Primary key, Auto

Increment

2 Fullname VARCHAR 50

3 Username VARCHAR 20 Unique

4 Password VARCHAR 20

5 Status VARCHAR 10

6 Question TEXT NULL

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Login form of Automated Vehicles License Registration System.

Grant user access to operate the main interface if supplied details are correct.

Revoke user the right to operate the main interface if supplied details is incorrect.

Supply login details to the system

Verify login details supplied by the user

System User Login Interface

7 Response VARCHAR 50

Figure 3.2.2: The table description of user attributes

3.5 SYSTEM SECURITY ASPECT

Automated Vehicles License Registration System software can be accessed through a login form

which is the very first interface that will be displayed for the user to supply the login details

which will be verified with the basement code define within it to grant user access to the main

interface or revoke user access depending on the code verifier conclusion. The below use-case

diagram showing the access relationship between the login part of the entire system.

Figure 3.3: Use-case diagram showing the system security process.

3.6 SOFTWARE OPERABILITY DESCRIPTION

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Automated Driver’s License Registration System is entirely made up of two interfaces which

includes; the login interface which had previously been explained in the system security aspect,

the main interface which provides front-end projection of registered vehicles license details for

reference and monitory purpose, it is a frame that is made of menu; buttons; tables; and tabs, the

vehicles license interface for performing the registration functions, updates, renewal of the

vehicles license information, printing of teaching and non-teaching staff licenses’ card.

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Begin

Display the System Login Form

Request and Verify Login Details

Is user login Details Correct?

Display the System VLRS Home Interface

Delete License.Register new Vehicles.

Renew Vehicle License

Search Vehicles details

View Registered Vehicles and Expired Vehicles

Print License Card

End

NO YES

3.7 SYSTEM FLOWCHART

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CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULT

4.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The system compatibility requirement for executing this software is considered on two

requirement specifications.

4.1.1 Hardware Requirement Specifications

The following are the hardware specifications for the designed application:

1.66GHz or Higher Intel Premium Processor.

1Gb Memory (RAM) or Higher.

VGA 800 x 600, 256 color.

Uninterrupted Power Supply

Hard Disk Storage of 120GB Minimum.

4.1.2 Software Requirement Specifications

Windows Vista, 7 or higher version 32bit.

Reliable and licensed Antivirus software like Avast.

Mysql database Server (Xampp or Wamp).

Mysql ODBC Connector (3.5 and above version).

4.2 TESTING

After implementation and sometimes during design, the application must be subjected to testing

varieties which are:

i. Delivery Test: This application will be released to the store used as a case study

for testing to see the suitability of usage.

ii. Audit Test: This test is likewise to be chosen in preference to beta test depending

on the department’s choice concordance with the programmer. It is achieved

while the program designer establishes a scheduled training to the department of

study.

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4.3 IMPLEMENTATION PHASES

The implementation phase is categorized into two major sections which are the Login

section and the main interface section. These sections are explained below:

i. Log In Section: This section grant access to the user t open the main interface, It secured

the main interface from unauthorized user.

ii. Main Interface: This covers all the overall activities of the application such as

registration, modification, deletion, record search and also printing of vehicle user license

card

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