Shock for drivers in tough rules to protect students

The government has released new rules to restore sanity in public transport and also cushion learners who use school buses and public vehicles.

In a new move, all public service vehicles (PSVs) and commercial drivers will have to undergo fresh mandatory driving retest before renewing their licenses from June 1, 2023.

In a circular dated April 19, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said all PSV drivers will be subjected to mandatory physical fitness test including an eye and hearing test by a qualified medical practitioner.

Murkomen also ordered that all driver trainees will be expected to provide a medical certificate before administration on the National Transport and safety Authority (NTSA) driver test.

Murkomen said that all learners using school buses or public transport will now be required to be allocated individual seats in new directives released by the government.

CS said each learner will also be required to have a functioning seat belt properly fitted while in the vehicles. In the new tough rules, Murkomen also directed that no school bus will be allowed to operate between 10pm and 5am in the morning.

He said that all unroadworthy vehicles will be removed from public roads with immediate effect, noting that road accidents are on the rise. ''In the last couple of weeks, our country has witnessed the unfortunate loss of innocent lives including those of school children following tragic road traffic crashes in various parts of the country,'' said Murkomen said. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Murkomen also urged travelers to take responsibility of their safety on the roads.

"We require citizen responsibility. You cannot board a vehicle yet you see out rightly that the driver is drunk and you do nothing about it, yet you are 14 people against one driver. There is no greater abdication of responsibility than that," said CS.

"We as citizens can take the bold step of alighting from the vehicle and ask the company to provide another driver. We cannot be helpless when it comes to our own lives." Murkomen said the State will take advantage of technology in traffic management to have cameras installed along the Nairobi-Malaba and within our cities to nab culprits.

The details come a day after a tragic road accident along Nairobi-Nakuru highway claimed the lives of six students who were travelling home for May holiday.

Education CS Ezekiel Machogu said the State will ensure the best free medical treatment is offered to the hospitalised students under the Edu Afya health insurance scheme for secondary school learners. "The insurance cover will also cater for funeral expenses for all the deceased students," Machogu said.

Machogu said three of the seven students were found to be in need of critical medical care and were rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of the Kenyatta National Hospital where they are currently admitted.

The Naivasha accident is the latest in a series of incidents that have cost lives on Kenyan roads. Last Saturday, 13 mourners died after the bus they were travelling in lost control on Wundanyi-Mwatate Road. About 15 Pwani University students died a fortnight ago after their bus lost control on Nakuru-Nairobi highway.