The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has launched a program designed to alert speeding motorists.
On Wednesday, November 27, several motorists lamented online claiming to have received SMS alerts from the Authority warning them against speeding.
According to the motorists, the SMS was received almost immediately after they passed different roads around the city including Red Hill Road and the Southern bypass.
Through the pilot digital speed notification system which is still in its testing phase, NTSA notified the motorists that they violated section 42(1) of the Traffic Act which states:
"No person shall drive, or, being the owner or person in charge of a vehicle, cause or permit any other person to drive, a vehicle on a road at a speed greater than such speed as may be prescribed as the maximum speed for that class of vehicle," reads the regulation in part.
Interestingly, the notification messages feature several key details including the speeding vehicle's registration, the time of committing the offence, the exact speed limit which was exceeded, and the name of the owner which the vehicle is registered under.
Part of the SMS in question read, "Your vehicle Reg X was captured driving at a speed of 54kph exceeding the speed limit of 50kph on RedHill road on 2024 - 11-27 at 10:39:17. Slow down, fika salama."
Despite being in its infancy stages, the new digital speed notification system is set to go a long way in aiding the NTSA to monitor and penalize speeding violations.
In 2023, NTSA hatched a comprehensive plan to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of reducing road traffic-related fatalities. Part of the plan entailed setting up speed zones including 30 km/h Zones which are designated in areas such as villages, school zones, and commercial areas where the likelihood of pedestrian and cyclist accidents is high.
Similarly, the government also aimed to set up 50 km/h zones which would be enforced in areas susceptible to side-impact collisions, such as busy intersections.
The NTSA's new digital initiative comes at a time when President William Ruto is cracking down on agencies that are behind in terms of modernising their infrastructure.
On Thursday, Ruto put on notice directors of key agencies within his government who he claims have been undermining government efforts in the digitisation of government services.
Ruto consequently gave at least 34 agencies one week to onboard their key services on the eCitizen platform or face the axe.
