Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Wednesday, April 19, directed all Public Service Vehicle (PSV) and commercial drivers to undergo mandatory driving retests before the renewal of licenses from June 1, 2023.
In a statement, the CS noted that the drivers would also be required to undergo physical fitness tests, including an eye and hearing test by a qualified medical practitioner beginning July 1, 2023.
Additionally, all driver trainees would be expected to provide a medical certificate before administration on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) driver test.
This was pursuant to Section 105 A (1) of the Traffic Act which provides that a driver of a public service vehicle or a commercial vehicle shall after every three years from the date of issue of a driving license, undergo a physical fitness test from qualified medical personnel.
Here is Murkomen's full statement:
In the last couple of weeks, our country has witnessed the unfortunate loss of innocent lives including those of school children following tragic road traffic crashes in various parts of the country. On my behalf the Ministry, and on my own behalf, I wish to condole with the families, friends, and relatives of those who have lost their lives in these crashes and wish a quick recovery to those recuperating in various health facilities.
As I have always said, one life lost is one too many. My Ministry is working collaboratively with other Government agencies and stakeholders in the transport sector to put in place stringent measures that will enhance road safety and save lives.
On the issue of transportation for school children, it is prudent to enhance safety especially now that the schools are closing and our children are travelling home. In this regard, and in the effect of a Cabinet directive issued yesterday, 18th April 2023 on the enhancement of road safety, I wish to direct as follows;
School transportation shall not be allowed to operate between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am in line with the Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2017, effective immediately.
All school children MUST be allocated seats with functional seatbelts put on at all time.
School vans, buses and matatus that are unroadworthy must be removed from the roads with immediate effect.
In the implementation of the Intelligent Road Safety Management System (IRSMS), all heavy commercial operators
must ensure vehicles with a tare weight of 3049 Kgs and above are fitted with speed limiters effective immediately.
In compliance with KS 2295:2018 all the 57 licensed speed limiter vendors MUST install approved gadgets that will limit speed, record speed data after every 5 seconds, transmit data to both the NTSA and the vendor servers and report violations in real-time.
To ensure all public service vehicles operate with functional speed limiters, a multi-agency clinic shall be formed to verify and validate ALL speed limiters from 25th April 2023 to 31st May 2023. All stakeholders including public transport operators, speed limiter vendors and the National Police Service will be incorporated into this multi-agency exercise.
On blackspot management, I wish to direct the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Urban Road Authority (KURA) and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to work expeditiously to complete the ongoing road safety audits on all blackspots and ensure safety interventions, including installation of signage, reflectors, and street lighting within the next 30 days.
Additionally, all infrastructure around schools should be audited and declared school zones with necessary road furniture for the safety of our school children within 6 months.
I have further instructed the road agencies to ensure cameras have been installed at all blackspots. The first phase, to be
completed within four months.
Section 30(6) of CAP 403 of the Traffic Act provides that "a driver of a public service vehicle or a commercial vehicle shall be required to undergo every three years a driving test under Section 39 successfully as a condition for each renewal of the license".
Further, Section 105A (1) of the Traffic Act "provides that a driver of a public service vehicle or a commercial vehicle shall, after every three years from the date of issue of a driving license pursuant to Section 30, or renewal of such license, whichever is the case, undergo a physical fitness test, including an eye and hearing test by a qualified medical practitioner”.
In the implementation of the above sections, I direct as follows;
i) From 1st June 2023, all PSV drivers and commercial vehicle drivers, upon expiry of their licenses, will be subjected to a
mandatory driver retest before renewal of the driving licenses.
ii) From 1st July 2023, all PSV drivers, and commercial vehicle drivers will be subjected to a mandatory medical fitness test by a qualified medical practitioner before renewal of their driving licenses. Additionally, all driver trainees will be expected to provide a medical certificate before administration on the NTSA driver test.
On the enforcement of the proliferation of substandard products in the automotive industry, it has been noted, from crash investigations report, that most of the crashes were caused by tire burst, brake failure while at high speed, while others were caused by crashing into vehicles mounted with substandard retroreflective strips thus affecting visibility on the road.
To address this, I have directed NTSA to form a multi-agency enforcement team, bringing together the Anti-Counterfeit.
Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards, and the National Police Service, to weed out distributors and suppliers of substandard products and spare parts.
In compliance with the KS 372:2019 on passenger vehicle body construction, I direct immediate enforcement on anti-rolling bars, installation of seatbelts and proper anchorage of seats on all public service vehicles including matatus, omnibuses and buses.
Additionally, I have tasked NTSA through the motor vehicle inspection unit to validate and take necessary action against non-
compliant vehicles.
To support post-crash management and in the implementation of Regulation 11 (g) of the PSV Regulations, 2014, all long-distance public service vehicles (PSVs) are;
Directed to subscribe to an accident and emergency system with immediate effect. In addition to this, the vehicles are required to prominently display the details of the subscription as public information and for passenger reference.
Additionally, I have instructed NTSA to submit a list of non-compliant public service vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) for assessment of their insurance policies within the next seven days.
In the long term and for effective implementation of the same, I further direct NTSA to work on finalising system integrations between them and the insurance sector for real-time data sharing to assist in compliance and enforcement.
I also direct that ALL motor vehicle owners with expired inspection certificates must present their vehicles to the nearest NTSA centre for a fresh assessment of their roadworthiness, within the next 30 days.
I wish to assure Kenyans of the Ministry's commitment to implement regulations, policies and laws, and enhance behavioural change through training and sensitisation to reduce road carnage, enhance safety and security on our roads and save the lives of all road users.
We shall work closely with the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination and other related Ministries and State Agencies to ensure these directives are adhered to.
I have also instructed NTSA to intensify the Usalama Barabarani campaign and education awareness programmes across the country in a bid to change the attitude and behaviour of all road users. I also call upon leaders including Honourable Members of Parliament, Cabinet colleagues, Governors, State Agencies, religious leaders, the media fraternity, and all stakeholders in the transport sector to support these initiatives and reverberate this clarion call at all levels.
Further, I urge members of the public to take personal responsibility for their safety by putting on seatbelts when in vehicles, wearing helmets when riding on boda bodas, crossing the road at designated points, reporting drunk drivers, refusing to board unroadworthy vehicles, and stopping and alighting from speeding vehicles.
