The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has directed all schools and school transport providers to make sure their vehicles are safe before schools reopen.
In a notice issued on August 15, the NTSA stated that every vehicle carrying school children must be in good mechanical condition.
The warning follows an inspection by the NTSA, during which random checks were carried out on school vehicles and numerous issues were identified.
According to the authority, some vehicles did not have speed limiters, while others had broken or expired ones. In some cases, the devices were not sending information to NTSA’s road safety system.
Inspectors also found vehicles with poor interiors, including torn seats, shaky cushions, broken door locks, and missing or faulty seat belts.
Other vehicles failed to meet safety standards such as KS 372:2019 (which specifies requirements for safety and passenger comfort), with poor seat anchoring, no anti-roll bars, and missing identification plates.
On the outside, some had rusted chassis, damaged bodies, and worn-out mechanical parts like faulty steering and suspension.
NTSA reminded transport operators that all school vehicles must be built by approved manufacturers and checked by certified inspectors. The Authority stated that a list of these is available on the NTSA website.
The authority urged schools to ensure that teachers and school children are not transported in unroadworthy vehicles.
PSV Inspection Certificates
The authority also revealed that over 315,000 public service and commercial vehicles in the country do not have valid inspection certificates, informing their owners to fix the problem immediately.
“For public systems, we have flagged 315,000 public service vehicles and commercial vehicles (Tare Weight 3049Kgs and above), operating without valid motor vehicle inspection certificates and all the owners have been notified to undertake immediate remedial measures,” the notice reads
Law enforcement officers have been asked to use NTSA’s free mobile app to check inspection certificates.
