Police officers are directed not to arrest traffic offenders if the traffic offence is punishable by the charging of a fine.
According to a document published jointly by the Judiciary, the National Council of Administrative Justice and the National Police Service, a traffic offender should only be arrested if they fail to pay a fine that was imposed on them.
However, in such an instance, the offender will be jailed for a term not exceeding six months.
“No traffic offender shall be held by police for offences punishable by a fine only or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months,” read the guidelines in part.
Further, the guidelines also provide that any person accused of traffic offences should be granted time to pay fines before any arrest is carried out.
“No accused persons in traffic cases will be locked up in cells without first being granted time, place and adequate facilities to pay fines,” explained the guidelines.
On the other hand, the guidelines state that law enforcement officers may arrest a traffic offender if the time granted to pay the fines has lapsed without payment from the offender.
Additionally, the traffic offender may also be arrested if they fail to attend a court hearing in regard to the offence committed.
Based on the traffic regulations guidelines, court summons or a Notification to Attend Court (NTAC) allows an individual to attend court on a convenient date within seven days.
The notice shall also outline the charges and indicate the maximum penalty to be paid to the court.
In the instance the accused fails to adhere to the summon, the bail payment previously issued will be scrapped and the issuance of the warrant of arrest will be granted.
However, the Minister for Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen has stated that the government is working on technology that will charge instant fines to motorists violating traffic regulations.
The technology is stated to be in the testing stage and will be rolled out to the public at a later date.
