National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) on Thursday, June 15, launched a road safety clinic in Nairobi in line with a directive issued by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
In a notice, NTSA informed motorists that the crackdown aimed at boosting road safety involves public transport operators (matatus), commercial transport operators and boda boda riders.
NTSA conducted the crackdown in collaboration with the National Police Service (NPS) and speed limiter vendors in the road safety clinic on all the major roads within the city.
"Following an increase in road carnage in the recent past, the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Roads and Transport outlined several safety measures for implementation by various agencies and stakeholders.
"Among the measures was the formation of a multi-agency clinic to enhance road safety education and ascertaining the functionality of speed limiters on all public service vehicles and commercial vehicles with a tare weight of 3,049kgs and above," the NTSA notice read in part.
During the exercise, NTSA will demand the identification of conductors and drivers' verified badges. Motorists will also be required to submit their inspection certificates, licences and qualification assessment of the driver and conductor.
Law enforcement officers will also ensure that all motorists, especially matatus, adhere to directives issued by NTSA officials.
During the exercise, speed limiter vendors will liaise with NTSA officials to verify cars' ability to limit speed. Motorists must also show that their speed limiters can record and store speed data for 72 hours.
The speed limiters must also transmit data to NTSA and vehicle vendor servers every 5 seconds as required.
According to NTSA, motorists who fail the test in Nairobi will be issued with a prohibition order and then booked to visit the NTSA inspection centres for another compliance test.
However, motorists will not be charged during the road safety clinic in Nairobi.
For Nairobi boda boda operators, they will be required to adhere to traffic rules and regulations as stipulated by the safety authority. They will be required to wear helmets, reflective jackets and a load which is not wider than the handlebars.
Defending the operation, NTSA announced that it was set to improve road safety and increase compliance by PSVs, commercial vehicles and boda boda operators.
On Monday, May 8, CS Murkomen announced the operation which he indicated would restore sanity on the road.
