The government has announced a major nationwide crackdown on vehicles not properly registered or flaunting the traffic rules beginning February 28.
In a statement released by government spokesperson Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna on Friday, February 25, the operation will be implemented in accordance with the Rapid Result Initiative (RRI) on Traffic Act enforcement.
In collaboration with National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), motor vehicles that would be targetted include those that operate with number plates that are not prescribed in the country, cars fitted with throb lights without permission and those with flashing lights without authorisation.
Others include vehicles with foreign plates without motor vehicle foreign permits, and Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operating unlawfully with Usiku Sacco, Voxy, Noah Sientas, and Probox being used to ferry passengers.
In the crackdown, some regions have been listed with the specific type of motor vehicles that will be targeted. In Nairobi and Mombasa, the crackdown will focus on unlicensed tuktuks (tri-cycles).
In Meru and Nyeri, speeding miraa ferrying vehicles will be on the government's radar, and in Western Kenya and all sugar growing areas, the operation will target trucks and other vehicles ferrying sugarcane.
To reduce the number of accidents witnessed in the country, the national government in collaboration with NTSA has diverted all its attention to addressing the challenges leading to road traffic crashes, reducing the number of road traffic fatalities, ensuring efficient and sustainable enforcement, and increasing compliance with the provision of the Traffic Act and PSV Regulations.
The new Rapid Result Initiative will also be aimed at rooting out traffic violations in line with the Traffic Act and relevant regulations.
Among the most common violations that the government will be seeking to get rid off in the Kenyan roads include operating without a valid Road Service Licence (RSL), operating expired or without a PSV badge, operating without a uniform, and operating without a driver’s license.
Other violations include operating uninsured motor vehicles, excess pillion passengers, worn out tyres, those contravening insurance policies, defective motor vehicles, exceeding the speed limit.
The new crackdown will also see rules that were introduced by the late Transport Minister John Njoroge Michuki brought back to effect on Kenyan roads. They include vehicles operating without an inspection sticker, those without a speed governor, obstruction, reckless driving, and lane indiscipline.
For boda boda operators, the crackdown will be seeking to flush out those operating without a reflective jacket, those without a helmet. Pedestrians who cross the road while texting or wearing earphones will not be spared.
The crackdown is set to bring back sanity in the Kenyan roads.
