NTSA deploys technology to help curb festive accidents

Tempted to speed or break traffic rules this festive season? Do it at your own peril.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has deployed modern technology to crack down on road users violating traffic rules countrywide.

Apart from AI-powered smart cameras that detect and fine offenders, the agency has introduced a digital enforcement system capable of identifying multiple violations in real time.

NTSA Board Chairperson Mr Khatib Mwashetani said the authority aims to reduce road accidents by monitoring real-time compliance.

Speaking in Mombasa County, Mr Mwashetani said the authority has acquired enough gadgets, including speed guns and alcoblow kits to help curb drink driving, which is one of the major causes of road accidents.

Apart from the highways, there will be a crackdown in town centres. The authority said that the speed limit in the Mombasa central business district should be 50 kilometres per hour.

“You will be sentenced if we arrest you. If you are drunk, call a taxi to take you home instead of driving. We’ve already lost almost 4,500 people to road accidents this year, and we don’t want this number to increase,” Mr Mwashetani he said, adding that motorists should embrace the law even after the festive season.

Deputy Director and Head of Safety and Compliance Mr Wilson Tuigong said the newly developed enforcement app collects data to detect offences such as speeding, unlicensed vehicles, uninsured cars and overall driver non-compliance.

“Using cameras, we can capture vehicle details, speed and drivers’ behaviour, including phone use or not wearing seatbelts,” Mr Tuigong told Nation,concerning crackdowns on the Nairobi–Nakuru–Eldoret highway.

The system is integrated with the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) and AAR Healthcare databases. This will enable officers to instantly verify insurance cover, drivers’ licences, Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badges and vehicle classifications.

“If a driver operates a car in the wrong class, once the vehicle’s details and the driver’s ID are captured, the system immediately flags the violation,” he said.

At accident-prone blackspots across the country, the NTSA is conducting a multi-agency enforcement operation together with the Kenya Police Service, and the Judiciary — to facilitate instant fines for offenders.

“We are conducting joint enforcement with NTSA during the festive season. Many Kenyans are travelling upcountry, and this strategy is aimed at ensuring that they reach their destinations safely,” the Directorate of Police Operations Headquarters, Mr Reuben Kemboi , said during a crackdown in Salgaa.

By yesterday afternoon, the operation had detected at least 100 offenders, most of whom were fined between Sh20,000 and Sh50,000 in NTSA mobile courts.

“Yesterday, we were in Naivasha where we caught 30 offenders. We will continue patrolling this route all the way to Bungoma to ensure motorists comply with road safety standards,” Mr Kemboi said, while asking drivers to avoid alcohol, observe speed limits and cooperate with officers.

The police reported that the most common offence, especially in Naivasha and Salgaa, was defective speed limiters in PSVs. Officers also flagged drivers operating under the wrong licence class, vehicles ferrying passengers illegally, unroadworthy cars, lack of valid inspection certificates and vehicles with expired or missing insurance.

“A speed limiter must function correctly, transmit data every five seconds and provide at least 72 hours of telemetry. Vehicles with defective limiters have been prohibited from operating and will be taken to court. Compliance inspection is required before their number plates are returned,” Mr Tuigong said.

NTSA Board Director Mr Losilian Kalo Johnson said the authority, in collaboration with agencies under the National Council for Administration of Justice, has intensified enforcement and awareness campaigns.

He asked road users to make responsible choices: avoid drinking and driving, obey speed limits, maintain lane discipline, overtake safely, avoid reckless driving and only board licensed, insured, and roadworthy PSVs.

To prevent congestion, the NTSA and the police coordinated smooth traffic diversion via alternative routes, including the Ravine–Mau Narok Road, easing pressure on the Salgaa–Kibunja stretch.

By midday, traffic along the highway was flowing smoothly, a relief for motorists who had faced hours-long delays a day earlier.

Coast Regional Traffic Enforcement Officer Mr George Kashmiri said traffic was smooth on major highways in the region with minimal incidents. He said the last major accident was reported three days ago at Man Eaters area along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, where two people died when two lorries collided.

Separately, more than 60 passengers narrowly escaped death yesterday when the bus they were travelling in was set on fire by an irate mob near Salgaa trading centre on the busy Nakuru–Eldoret highway.

The mob burnt a Mash Poa bus after it hit and killed a boda boda rider. Passengers scampered for safety as the bus went up in flames, witnesses said.

“Some of the passengers escaped through the windows. The mob and the driver exchanged words before the bus was set ablaze. The driver fled the scene as the mob bayed for his blood,” said Mr James Mwangi, a witness.

Luckily, all the passengers escaped unhurt, with most managing to save their luggage. However, a few lost their belongings in the fire.

Witnesses said the bus, which was ferrying passengers from Mombasa to Eldoret and other parts of Western Kenya for the Christmas holidays, hit a boda boda operator who was reportedly riding recklessly on the highway, killing him on the spot.

Nakuru County Traffic Enforcement Officer Allan Ogolla confirmed the incident, saying rowdy youths attacked the driver and the bus after the accident before setting it on fire.
On his part, Mr Mwashetani urged motorists to be keen on the road, noting that the public has become too emotive and easily take matters into their own hands whenever an accident occurs.

“We are urging vehicle owners to make sure that their cars are roadworthy. Long-distance PSV vehicles must have two drivers, because many of these accidents are caused by fatigue where you find that a driver can even be asked to travel from Mombasa to Nairobi and back,” the NTSA boss said.

He further cautioned motorists against operating private vehicles as PSVs, noting that a temporary permit must first be obtained from the authorities.