- NTSA said the PSV also underwent a compliance inspection and it failed the check.
- The Authority said “we are undertaking a road safety compliance audit” when a Kenyan asked whether the sacco has been censured.
Image: SCREENGRAB
Citizen policing has helped rid our roads of one unqualified matatu driver who was caught on tape driving recklessly and the footage was brought to the attention of the NTSA.
In the video, the matatu is seen wobbling while being driven at high speed as some passengers, seemingly young adults, hang from the windows in glee.
"Umebeba watoto? (You are carrying children?)" a female motorist who filmed the episode is heard asking.
The road safety authority said it tracked down the vehicle after the tip-off by Sikika Road Safety and subjected the offending driver to compliance checks but he failed the assessment test.
“Upon receipt of this report, the Authority directed Sacco to present the driver and the vehicle to the NTSA Likoni inspection centre for compliance assessment. The driver was subjected to a retest focusing on the Highway Code, Road Signs and Road Safety. He performed poorly in all the areas,” NTSA said in a statement on X.
The Authority said the driving and PSV licences of the driver have henceforth been suspended.
“The PSV also underwent a compliance inspection and it failed the check,” NTSA said.
The National Transport and Safety Authority was established through an Act of Parliament in October 2012 to harmonise the operations of the key road transport departments and help in effectively managing the road transport subsector and minimising loss of lives through road crashes.
The Authority said “We are undertaking a road safety compliance audit” when a Kenyan asked whether the sacco had been censured.
It also took note of a suggestion to undertake a random compliance audit on vehicles plying Outeringand BabaDogo roads which one social media user said “I think they are the worst in the city”.
The latest statistics by the NTSA indicate that road accidents across the country have claimed at least 1,189 lives since the beginning of the year.
The data captured road crashes for the period between January 1 and April 1, 2024.
The death toll represents an increase of 60 fatalities compared to 1,129 recorded in the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, a Status Report in Road Safety 2023 released in Nairobi on July 16 by the World Health Organization said Kenya is among the top five African countries where you are more likely to die in a road accident.
It said on average, 19.4 people out of every 100,000 die in road crashes in Africa but in Kenya, the ratio jumps to 28 people.
NTSA during the release of the report that at least 4,000 Kenyans are killed in road crashes every year, but those maimed for life are about 10,000.
WHO said the crashes are totally preventable, which means the deaths and injuries can be avoided.