Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) have until March next year to upgrade their speed governors so they can relay real-time speed information to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) servers.
The upgrade will mean that the speed governors will be able to transmit data on the speed at which the car is moving, the location of the car, the driver and the Sacco the vehicle belongs to.
All vehicles weighing above 3048 tonnes are also required to be fitted with a speed governor.
NTSA Director General Francis Mejja on Monday said that motor vehicle owners were now required to upgrade their speed limiters to the latest device standard KS 2295:2018. This is aimed at helping the transport agency get rogue drivers.
Meja observed that the current speed governors were prone to tampering by unscrupulous drivers but the new devise would help curb the same.
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“Manipulation of the current speed gadgets has made it hard for us to monitor speeding vehicles which have led to numerous deaths but with the new device we will be able to monitor vehicles in real time and take action against those speeding,” Meja said.
The Director General explained that the speed limiter technology will be linked with the smart driver’s license recently rolled out by the government. Consequently, any person found to be tampering with the speed governor will be stripped of their license.
“We will be able to curtail accidents caused by speeding because through the new device, we are able to see speeding vehicles and take action before an accident happens,” stated Meja.
He further highlighted that anyone who intends to supply the new gadgets should be authorised by KEBS and the roads agency. “The revised speed limiter standard requires that every supplier must meet laboratory tests and installation specifications,” added Meja.
At the same time, more than 85 percent of matatus have complied with the Michuki Rules. Meja said that approximately 22,000 drivers have applied for driving licenses while another 4000 PSVs applied for operating licenses since the onset of the crackdown.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said the crackdown, during which 40,000 traffic offences have been recorded, will continue even more strictly to ensure that only compliant PSVs remain on the road.
