The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has issued a nationwide safety advisory ahead of the reopening of schools, calling on all road users to obey traffic rules in protecting children during the busy back-to-school period in January 2026.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, NTSA noted that thousands of children will be travelling to and from schools in the coming days, significantly increasing traffic on Kenyan roads. The Authority emphasised that ensuring the safety of learners is a shared responsibility involving private motorists, public transport operators, school administrations, parents, and guardians.

NTSA urged all road users to strictly comply with traffic rules, plan their journeys carefully, and avoid unnecessary night travel due to reduced visibility. The Authority warned that indiscipline on the roads during this period could expose children to preventable risks.

Vehicle owners, particularly those providing school transport services, have been reminded to ensure their vehicles are properly maintained, roadworthy, and fully licensed. NTSA stressed the importance of valid insurance, road service licences, and up-to-date inspection certificates, especially after the long school holiday break.

Obeying traffic laws

”We urge all road users to strictly comply with traffic rules, plan their journeys adequately, and avoid night travel due to reduced visibility.
Following the long holiday break, vehicle owners are expected to have proactively ensured that any vehicles used for transporting children are properly maintained, roadworthy, and fully licensed, including valid insurance, road service licenses, and inspection certificates,” the statement said in part.

Parents and guardians were strongly cautioned against allowing children to board non-compliant vehicles. Previous inspections have revealed serious safety defects in some school transport vehicles, including faulty or non-functional speed limiters, defective brakes, missing or damaged seat belts, unstable seats, and malfunctioning door locks. NTSA warned that such defects pose grave dangers to learners.

To enhance compliance, NTSA advised motor vehicle owners to use the remaining days before schools reopen to present their vehicles for mandatory annual inspection. The Authority confirmed that all NTSA motor vehicle inspection centres across the country are open and fully operational.

Caution to guardians

”To further protect our children, we strongly appeal to parents and guardians not to permit their children to board any non-compliant vehicles. Previous compliance checks and inspections highlighted major defects in school transport vehicles, including faulty or non-transmitting speed limiters, defective brakes, missing or faulty seat belts, unstable seats, and malfunctioning door locks, among other critical safety issues,” the statement added.

In addition, NTSA has directed speed limiter vendors to ensure that all devices installed on vehicles meet the requirements of KS 2295:2018. This includes proper functioning, accurate speed limiting, reliable data storage, and real-time transmission of information to the NTSA system.