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The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officers have impounded several school transport vehicles in an ongoing sensitisation operation.

In a statement on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, NTSA indicated that several school vehicles had been nabbed during the operation aimed at promoting road safety in Kisii County.

“Several school transport vehicles impounded within Kisii County in the ongoing Usalama Barabarani compliance checks,” NTSA’s statement read in part.

However, NTSA did not immediately reveal the traffic offence each vehicle committed during the operation.

Requirements

Following the operation, the safety authority reminded different institutions of the requirements school transport vehicles must meet in order to be allowed on the road.

NTSA informed various schools that their vehicles must be fitted with functional speed limiters that transmit data to its Intelligent Road Safety Management System (IRSMS).

Besides speed limiters, NTSA emphasised that all school transport must be insured by an approved insurance provider.

The authority added that all vehicles ferrying schoolchildren must pass the roadworthy test to prevent them from risking the lives of other road users.

“Vehicles ferrying children must be compliant with licensing requirements, including valid road service licenses and inspection certificates, among others,” NTSA further explained.

Before schools reopened, NTSA also listed its requirements for drivers, among them being a valid driver’s license. The class endorsement also needs to match the vehicle being driven.

For instance, drivers who are limited to driving saloon cars should not drive buses. The drivers also need to have a valid Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badge.

Additionally, the authority warned schools against disregarding the vehicle capacity limit. NTSA revealed that action would be taken against schools that overload.

Update: Several school transport vehicles impounded within Kisii County in the ongoing #UsalamaBarabarani compliance checks.

NOTE: Vehicles ferrying children MUST be;

– Insured
– Roadworthy
– Fitted with functional speed limiters that transmit data to the NTSA Intelligent… pic.twitter.com/9YQt2qmWnk

— NTSA KENYA (@ntsa_kenya) September 24, 2024

Accidents data

The exercise is aimed at reducing road accidents in the country. In April 2024, NTSA’s data revealed that since the year started, 7,198 Kenyans have been involved in road accidents, marking an increase of 1,908 compared to last year.

Among the 7,198 Kenyans, NTSA reveals that 1,189 died from road accidents, 3,316 were seriously injured, and 2,693 suffered from minor injuries.

The data was collected from January 1, 2024, to April 1, 2024.