Duncan Kibogong, Deputy Director in charge of Safety Strategies and County Co-ordination at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) on Wednesday, April 19, hinted at rolling out refresher courses for drivers after suspending their licences.
In a media interview, Kibogong indicated that NTSA was collaborating with the National Police Service (NPS) and other enforcement agencies to suspend driving licences of drivers flouting traffic rules on various highways.
After suspension, the NTSA official maintained that the drivers would be compelled to take refresher courses.
Defending the policy shift, he argued that it would help tackle cases of drivers hitting the road with substandard training.
"We are working with National Police Service and other enforcement agencies so that the bad drivers get their licenses suspended and impose them another training," explained Kibogong during an interview on Hot96.
To expedite the adoption of the new policy, Kibogong revealed that NTSA was at an advanced stage of developing the new standardised curriculum.
The new standardised curriculum would target drivers and instructors in training schools to help them acquaint themselves with the latest road safety aspects.
"We are working towards ensuring that we have refresher training courses for our drivers, but we are not there yet. This is a progressive thing," Kibogong stated.
"We are working on a standardised curriculum for instructors and drivers," he insisted.
Besides, introducing refresher courses, NTSA official indicated that relevant authorities had heightened highway surveillance to curb drivers flouting rules.
He noted that the officers were on high alert, especially during the school closing and reopening period.
On Tuesday, April 18, the Cabinet directed the authority to go after reckless drivers contributing to the surge in road accidents.
"Meanwhile, the meeting stated with concern the rising cases of road accidents in the country," the cabinet despatch read in part.
"It directed the police and the National Transport and Safety Authority to rein in on the recklessness on the roads that has resulted in the loss of lives," it added.
The latest NTSA statistics indicated that 1,072 people had lost their lives in the first three months of 2023.
Further, it attributed the rising cases of accidents to more vehicles failing road-worthy inspection tests.
