DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE AND PLATE REGISTRATION. A CASE STUDY OF MOTOR LICENCING OFFICE ABUJA

Vehicle Registration in Nigeria began over 100 years ago and the records have been essentially manual which in turn has not help to raise the efficiency of general automotive services in recent years. Today, computer has been discovered as a very efficient instrument, which has played a very significant role in adequate management of information. Besides, it has played more roles in country. However, computerization has helped in many areas of life and due to vehicle owners, the thought of computerization of this operation becomes of great important in order to wipe out the manual data processing system from which many problem have originated. The problems, which have engulfed the objectives of motor vehicles registration, are extensively discussed in this project together with the new method that was innovated. This work is conducted towards the computerization of the various problems in processing data in order to identify the various problems that are been encountered in the registration of vehicles manually. This theory also compares the existing system with the new system, which is exact, and a faster way of processing data and the problem faced by customers when they are registering their vehicles. There are different programs that can be written to develop such programs, PASCAL, JAVA. VISUAL BASIC, and C++ etc. But I will be making use of PHP, Database (MySQL) they are both working with Apache server (Xamp). The Software design used Macromedia Dreamweaver, firework, flash, and switchmax.

The World is experiencing an information knowledge revolution that is fundamentally transforming the way in which human activities are carried out. Government’s worldwide are adopting e -government as a means of improving their services to businesses and citizens, promoting economic and social development, and enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of government operations.

Computer plays vital role in the development of any company it also saves some of its complex problem that is been faced by man and processes voluminous data within a short period of time or at an incredible speed. Recent emphasis on information and data processing in most of our business has grown adversely as in the case of motor vehicle license and plate registration. In as much as motor vehicle registration has been in existent for ages now, the old system of registration has been in adoption which did not play a significant role on highway safety until the development of the new system of vehicle registration where a reflective sheeting which is more visible to read even in the dark. This new system of motor vehicle and plate number registration, which is the main focus of this project, came into existent on the 19th March 1997 and handled by the motor licensing officer. It was introduced to enforce strict compliance to traffic rules and regulation as well as providing a proper data as to the behavior of road users. The roles, which the introduction of computer system will play in this function, will about more efficiency, effectiveness and improve competence.

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Vehicle Registration in Nigeria began over 100 years ago and the records have been essentially manual which in turn has not help to raise the efficiency of general automotive services in recent years. Motor licensing office Abuja only focuses on vehicle registration and inspection, and not on other supporting services such as vehicle tracking, learner’s driving permission, and drivers’ license management, monitoring of drivers and vehicles operations and documentation of both accident and crime report.

Vehicle registration in the city, state, and district offices burdened applicants by requiring them to personally deliver the certified copy of resident’s registration and other documents.

Vehicle Registration used to involve manual recording of vehicle’s information which ranges from cars to buses and later to trucks and heavy duty equipment on ledgers and tracking other related information such as registration, road worthiness test certificates, change of ownership, engine and chassis numbers; and expiration of road license. This process has been extremely inefficient and the recovery of the information was not possible once ledgers were damaged or lost as it frequently occurs.

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

These are the problems that are being encountered in the manual system of assigning a plate number to newly acquired vehicle in the department of vehicle licensing and registration, (Licensing office Abuja). The limited factors listed below have slowed realization of the good intention:

• Participation of Unauthorized Officers: Unauthorized offices according to my observation are involved in this work especially in the registration of illegal vehicles which can encourage fraud.
• Wrong Charging of Fees: The officer in-charge is bound to charge a wrong bill to vehicle owners, which may be as a result of underassessment or over assessment of vehicles. This could be with motive to commit fraud or as a result of mistake on the part of the officer at work.
• Wrong Sales Allocation: Staff under a particular state motor vehicle licensing office indulges in registering of vehicles that does not belong to their state.
• Improper Accounting: There is the tendency of the cashier involved in the handling of income generated to make mistake during this process, thus having some measures of inaccuracy in the work.
• There is difficulty at times in tracing a record/information cautioning a vehicle owner due to improper information keeping as a result of carelessness or volume in the size of record kept.
• Mental/Manual Labor: This involves the use of strength and Brain and the body. The officer in-charge goes through mental labor because he has to sort the records of the entire vehicle in his domain of jurisdiction.

He suffers from Manual labor because he has to write all the way.

• Excess Time Consumption: There is excessive time consumption because the motor licensing officer has to write and enter the information of the vehicle after the person whose vehicle is to be registered has paid a prescribed amount of money to the licensing authority accompanied with duly completed application, depending on the type of vehicle, write personal information about the person whose vehicle is to be registered and the category of vehicle whether commercial, privates, special purpose and so on, then your plate

number and vehicle license is prepared after a given period of time.

When put together, the time spent on all of these is much. 

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

As we have seen from the statement of the problems, the things that stand’s as puzzle in the manual system of motor vehicle registration aims at introducing a better system which is the computerized system which will contribute in providing solution to the problems.

1. To reduce the amount of time spent in registration of motor vehicle and information for all the vehicle owners.
2. To ensure a very high level of accuracy during registration of certain vehicle or category of vehicles that are prone to errors in the manual system. iii. To develop a system that will allow for the generation and assignment of an infinite identification mark or number (that is, the vehicle plate number). iv.   To replace the manual system of registration with a computerized system that will make registration simple and easy for registration officer and vehicle owner.
3. To provide restriction of illegal access of this program will be limited therefore password will be created for the application software. This password will just be limited to the officer in charge of the work.
4. This also aims at giving an up-to-date report of the revenue generates from vehicle registration within a defined period.

1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY

The application of this study is a must for any country that wants to be Information and Communication Technology inclined and ready to reduce the vehicle crime rate and corruption in her system. The scope of this study should be for Liaison Offices and organizations like (Motor licensing office Abuja) that issue vehicle licenses and other vehicle registration documents.

1.5 LIMITATONS OF THE   STUDY

In as much as I have so many areas where one could have covered for a wider generalization of result. Some factors have posed as an obstacle to this, and some of these constraints are as follows:

1. Finance: This contributed in my project research since there was much money exhausted in moving to and fro to gather facts for this work.
2. Time: As students where probably involved in schoolwork like writing of assignment quizzes and other engagement, thus there isn’t enough time to attend classes.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Due to the constant rise in technology, it is necessary to use computer to

Process voluminous data within a short period of time or at an incredible speed. This project is to help provide efficiency, effectiveness and improve competence issuance of vehicle license, plate number and other related activities. The importance of this study includes:

1. To expedite the efficiency of principal licensing officer in the processing of vehicle registration documents.
2. To develop a method that will allow easy storage and retrieval of vehicle and owner’s registration information at any time in the future.

• To develop a highly accurate method of generating and assigning plate numbers and how to interpret them.

1. To determine the easiest and fastest way to access vehicle owner’s registration information and missing vehicles.
2. To enable security agencies find missing vehicles.
3. To develop an easy method for generating and assigning plate numbers or identification mark.

1.7 ASSUMPTION OF THE STUDY

One of the major assumptions made in this study work is that manual methods of keeping records are ineffective, time wasting, prone to error and unsecured. It is also assumed that computerized base systems will motivate the staff members to work more effectively and efficiently when registering vehicles and other activities. I also believe that the facts and observation gotten from the office are all reliable for the study to be a very successful one.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS/VARIABLES

The following are some of the terminologies used in the project work.

• Vehicle Plate Number: This is a metallic or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle for official identification purposes. The number is made up of alphanumeric characters or numbers.
• Vehicle Registration: is the process where we add a vehicle’s details to the motor vehicle register and issue its registration plates. You have to license your vehicle regularly at least annually and you must display a current license label on your vehicle windscreen.
• Vehicle Licensing: A regular fee paid to permit the use of one’s vehicle on the public roads. The fee helps to pay for road projects and road safety programs. Your vehicle must be both registered and licensed for you to legally drive it on the road.
• Vehicle owner: is a person who has met up with the entire necessary requirement for owning a vehicle and has the right to drive it on public roads.
• Vehicle Registration and Enquiry Software (VehRES) System: This is application software that is a customizable data collection system, which can be used by law enforcement and motor vehicle agencies (i.e. Liaison Offices) nationwide. The VehRES are compatible with both laptop and desktop personal computers (PC) can be used to collect registered vehicle information for registration, renewal, updating, correction and tracking.
• Licensing office: A place where vehicle registration, licenses and other vehicle related documents are performed.
• Licensing officers: Is a person who registers vehicles in the licensing office.
• Vehicle: A mechanically propelled and wheeled object used for conveyance.
• Computerization: Introduction of the use of computer in an application area by writing a program that will suit the work.
• ICT: This is an acronym for Information and Communication Technology.
• Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC): They serve as law enforcement agency charged with responsibilities for, among others, policymaking, organization and administration of road safety in Nigeria.
• E-Government: There is no one common definition of E – Government, although the term is widely used. (Norris, 2005) view E – Government as a technology exercise, integrating individual database and websites of government, while (Batschneider, 1990) view it as a means of bringing the government closer to the common citizen through provision of public services online.
• Driver’s license or driving license is an official document, which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. The laws relating to the licensing of drivers vary between jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, a license is issued after the recipient has passed a driving test, while in others; a person acquires a license before beginning to drive. Different categories of license often exist for different types of motor vehicles, particularly large trucks and passenger vehicles. The difficulty of the driving test varies considerably between jurisdictions, as do factors such as age and the required level of practice

AutoReg Vehicle license: Is the automated vehicle license registration and renewal system, which is for all vehicle owners to register or renew their vehicle license with the state government. It is renewed annually; it shows the details of the vehicle owner and Vehicle details.