Economy

NTSA plans tough safety rules for long-distance PSVs

ntsa

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Director General Francis Meja (left) with Transport and Infrastructure Ministry Principal Secretary Prof Paul Maringa when they appeared before parliamentary committee on Transport on January 17, 2018. PHOTO| DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

Long-distance public service vehicle (PSV) operators will now be required to fit their fleet with speed governors that relay data in real-time to the roads agency’s database in fresh measures aimed at curbing the rising accidents, which claimed over 300 lives in December alone.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) says it will only lift the ban on night travel after putting in place safety measures that include fresh training of 4,000 long distance drivers.

Transport PS Paul Maringa told parliamentary Transport Committee chaired by David Pkosing: “We will lift the ban on night travel in two weeks’ time but very selectively. It will not be a blanket lifting. Only PSVs that fully comply with new regulations will be allowed to travel at night.”

The government, through the NTSA, imposed a ban on night travel by PSVs following a fatal accident in Migaa on Nakuru-Nairobi highway on December 31 that claimed 38 lives.

Infrastructure PS John Mosonik said preliminary investigations attributed to causes of the crashes to speeding, indiscipline, recklessness, driving under influence of alcohol and driver fatigue.

He said Kenya National Highways Authority has advertised for tender to expand the Kibunjia-Salgaa section through the construction of dual carriageway and separation of traffic using Jersey barrier at the 10-kilometre climbing section.

READ: House wants traffic officers punished for road accidents

Human error

Francis Meja, NTSA director-general, told the MPs that the Migaa accident was as a result of human error.

“We will be considering lifting the ban only if owners of PSVs plying long distances fit their vehicles with speed limiters that remit real data to our centres. We will also require them to provide us with the fleet management standards,” he said.

Mr Meja said the majority of speed limiters currently fitted in more than 400,000 PSVs had been tampered with and that is the reason NTSA is introducing real-time limiters to identify and deal with rogue drivers.

As a first step towards addressing the rising road carnage, Mr Meja said the NTSA would start retaining the long distance drivers in an exercise expected to be completed in the next three months.

“We are going to immediately vet and audit all PSV operators which we will categorise in three groups of green (compliant), amber (semi-compliant) and non-compliant, the latter having its operating licences revoked,” said Mr Meja.

READ: Truck drivers say other motorists behave badly, cause accidents

Lose operating licences

He said the NTSA would outsource 17 vehicle inspection unit across the country it took over from the National Police Service in order to focus on its core mandate of regulation.

Mr Meja said the authority will outsource the 17 vehicle inspection units across the country which it took over from National Police Service.

“We have 17 centers which we took over from police and they are poorly equipped. Our inspectors purely rely on visuals rather than machines while inspecting the vehicles. We want them upgraded to the level of the two we have in Likoni and Miritini in Mombasa that are fully equipped,” Mr Meja said.

NTSA said it is implement standards for construction of PSVs bodies and that those on the roads currently will be required to comply in the next six years or they lose operating licences.

READ: IN-DEPTH: Sunday is the deadliest day on Kenyan roads