The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has issued a directive to parents and guardians of school-going children in a bid to ensure road safety ahead of schools reopening in May.
NTSA in a statement on April 19, 2024, urged the parents and guardians to ensure that respective schools have complied to a directive issued by the Ministry of transport.
According to the statement, the parents are required to visit their children’s schools and establish if the school buses have undergone mandatory inspection.
“We humbly request parents/guardians to reach out to their children’s schools to establish whether they have complied with the directive and all the requirements of the Traffic Act,” read part of the statement.
The Authority highlighted that the mandatory inspection was to confirm the safety of the school transport.
According to NTSA, the orders were in line with an earlier directive issued by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
Murkomen had ordered for the mandatory inspection of all school vehicles in a bid to curb the rise in accidents.
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Furthermore, NTSA in a statement on April 18 noted that several schools presented their vehicles for inspection which was an implementation of the directive by Murkomen.
NTSA Inspection
The inspection involved the assessment of the vehicles’ mechanical soundness and whether the speed limiters installed on them are functional.
“We urge all schools to comply with the directive to avoid any inconveniences to learners and parents/guardians as the 1st of May 2024 deadline approaches,” NTSA added.
CS Murkomen while issuing the directive on school buses also announced the blacklisting of illegal Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) from operating with immediate effect.
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Additionally, the CS in a statement issued a stern warning that illegal PSVs including private vehicles like Probox, Noah, and Voxies among others would be impounded.
He further noted that the owners and operators of the illegal PSVs would be charged per traffic regulations.
The new directives were part of the measures taken by the Ministry in a bid to curb CS the surge of accidents in the year 2024.
Statistics announced by NTSA earlier in April indicated that about 1,214 lives had been lost in road accidents between January 1 and April 1, 2024.
According to the data revealed by NTSA Deputy Director, Safety, Audit and Inspection Eng Christine Ogut, this was a significant rise compared to the same period in 2023, with fatalities increasing by a significant five per cent.
The data further showed that pedestrians account for the largest number of fatalities.
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