The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) on Sunday, May 12 impounded a school bus with defects yet transporting passengers.
A source at the Authority told Kenyans.co.ke that the bus was impounded along Sotik -Kisii Road during a countrywide crackdown ahead of school reopening on Monday, May 13.
The bus in question, whose identity was hidden, was found to have a defective speed limiter and seat belts.
It was also fitted with faded chevron and reflectors and was operating with an expired Road Service Licence (RSL).
"School transport, like all public service vehicles, must comply with traffic rules and regulations," read the directive from NTSA.
The authority further noted that the crackdown targeted speeding motorists as well as those exercising indiscipline on the road and drivers who drink and drive.
A month ago, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and NTSA released School Transport Rules, 2024, laden with 14 directives after admitting that road crashes involving school buses were on the rise.
In the new rules, drivers risk having their licenses suspended for six months if found contravening the 14 rules.
The rules include a mandate for schools and their operators to obtain a school transport provider license to operate school buses (renewable for one year), have a valid comprehensive insurance cover and drivers be qualified to drive vehicles carrying minors.
All vehicles must also be equipped with first aid kits to deal with any reasonable emergency and have at least one fire extinguisher, fitted dual red light indicator on the uppermost part of the front and rear sides of the bus, and have a 'stop' sign.
A driver of a school bus must have a valid license, pass the annual assessment for a criminal record and if convicted, they are disqualified from driving school buses.
"I was angry (When he visited NTSA offices) because that evening I had heard that Chavakali students were traveling and were involved in an accident. A parent was waiting for her child yet the student had died. It is not a funny thing, it is a serious matter," Murkomen stated at the beginning of April.
In the first three months of 2024, over 1,200 people lost their lives through crashes, an increase from slightly over 1,100 recorded in a similar period last year.
