UNILORIN produces speed limiting device ‘that works with any vehicle’

An automobile speed limiter which could be used by any type of vehicle has been produced by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara state.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the vice-chancellor of the institution, made this known on Tuesday while speaking with journalists.

The professor said the creation was very important as lives were being lost daily as a result of over-speeding.

Ambali noted that UNILORIN embarked on the project in response to the challenge thrown at tertiary institutions by the National Universities Commission.

He said the speed limiter had been adequately tested and that he had experienced its “functionality” when it was attached to his car.

“I can attest to its functionality,” Ambali said.

The vice-chancellor promised to fund the research effort of any staff that would lead to the production of prototypes.

Sulyman Abdulkareem, the director of Laboratory to Product Centre of the university, said the design had universal applications, and as such, could be used on jeeps, cars, buses, and trucks.

He said: “We have modelled it and we have a tested working prototype thus becoming the first university in Nigeria to respond to this challenge.

“Our hope is now to make mass production of it. Our approach is to find a local or foreign company that will produce a unit to establish the unit cost price and from there we can work on the mass production.”

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in 2016 began an aggressive campaign against over-speeding by motorists.

In November, the commission said violations of its speed limiting device would start attracting fines from February 1, 2017.

Over-speeding is said to be the major cause of crashes in Nigeria with commercial vehicles accounting for 65 per cent of the crashes.