NTSA’s new car sticker rule comes into effect
By OUMA WANZALAMore than 2 million motor vehicle owners in Kenya will from Monday October 2 be required to have new National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) stickers.
A vehicle owner will part with Sh700 for the third identifier sticker, which means the agency will make some Sh1.4 billion.
“The acquisition of the third identifier is in line with traffic (regulation plate) rules, 2016, legal notice number 62 gazetted in April last year,” NTSA director-general Francis Meja says in a public notice.
Mr Meja said application for the sticker should be done through the Integrated Transport Management System, available on the authority’s website.
“On completion of the inspection process, one will be issued with the sticker. It will serve as the official NTSA motor vehicle inspection sticker that can be read electronically,” he said.
It will be placed on the windscreen and will bear discrete and covert features of the vehicle registration, ownership and inspection details.
SECURITY FEATURES
“Due to its security features, the sticker is protected against forgery and is automatically destroyed when removed or tampered with. Therefore, no one should be allowed to tamper or remove the sticker for any reason,” said Mr Meja.
He added that in case the sticker is damaged, the owner will be required to apply for a replacement at a cost of Sh700. The sticker will be valid for 10 years, before one makes a replacement.
At the same time, most Kenyans dying in road accidents are aged between 20 and 44.
In its latest report, the authority indicates that speed has become a serious risk factor, resulting in road deaths across the country.
NTSA chairman Jackson Ndung’u Waweru said 2,834 lives were lost on Kenyan roads as at June 30, compared to 3,150 during a similar period last year.
The chairman said between July and September, 619 people lost their lives, compared to 655 during the same period last year.
He said pedestrians continue to be the most vulnerable group in road crashes.
Mr Waweru said the authority had deployed traffic marshals to assist pedestrians at designated crossing points and ensure the enforcement of the 50km/h speed limit within the Nairobi metropolitan area.
SMART DRIVING LICENCE
“The interventions within Nairobi County led to a drop in the number of pedestrian fatalities, from 376 to 270,” said the chairman.
He went on: “Despite a 10 per cent reduction, evidence indicates that 91 per cent of the traffic crashes were attributed to human-related factors.
“They included speeding, reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drink driving, drink walking, drink riding, motorists using unfamiliar roads during weekends and lack of use of helmets.”
According to Mr Waweru, the authority is set to roll out a new smart driving licence.
“The new driving licence will have a biometric system that will facilitate capturing of driver details with the aim of profiling them. This data will help the authority and any other interested institutions profile drivers based on their behaviour and driving history,” said the chairman.
He added: “Through its demerit point system, the smart driving licence will go a long way in improving road safety as rogue drivers will be punished while good ones will be rewarded.
“The licence will also have a payment wallet that will be used for payment of traffic fines.”