Should a cop flag you down and determine that you are drunk, you may find yourself rotting in jail owing to the applicable punitive fines.
The hefty fines of as high as Sh100,000 are provided for in the new traffic law signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday which many may not afford.
The Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2021, sets the fine for “any person who, when driving or attempting to drive, or in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, is under the influence of an alcoholic drink or a drug beyond the prescribed limits.”
The law provides that such persons “shall be guilty of an offence and, liable to a fine not exceeding Sh100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both."
The fine for those found guilty of drunk driving is now five times higher than the previous one which ranged between Sh20,000 and Sh50,000.
The rider, however, is that the police would be required to conduct an objective test to determine breach of prescribed limits, paving way for the return of alcohol breathalysers - alcoblow.
Tiaty MP William Kamket, who sponsored the legislation, argued that the current law has been abused by traffic police as it allows a subjective test on culprits.
“Section 44(1) contains a subjective test which may not be easily implemented with such words as "to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle,” he said.
The new law provides that the said test be an objective one “by providing for such measurable and scientific applications such as prescribed limits”.
In December 2019, sub-county commanders of police were ordered to return all breathalyser kits to the traffic headquarters amid concerns of rampant abuse by corrupt traffic officers.
It was argued that the police had turned the devices into money-minting machines targeting motorists caught on the wrong side of the law.
Corrupt officers were letting drunk drivers off the hook for Sh2,000 with those who failed to play ball slapped with Sh20,000 fines and towing charges.
The new law also seeks to crack the whip on drivers who exceed designated speed limits, the lot now at the risk of losing their driving licences for three years.
The law has also removed the ambiguity in the current provision that is said to be unclear on whether the punishment should follow a breach of speed limits by more than 20 kilometres per hour.
Kamket said the deletion was to cure the frequent misinterpretation of the section which provides that a person who violates the speed limit prescribed for a road by more than twenty kilometres per hour commits an offence.
The annulled provision set that such persons shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term of not less than three months, or a fine of not less than Sh20,000, or both.
“Some entities interpret section 5B to mean a person does not commit an offence unless the speed limit is exceeded by more than 20km/h, while other entities, including NTSA, argue that the section creates a minimum penalty for persons who violate the speed limit by more than 20km/h,” Kamket said.
The new law also provides for regular inspection of vehicles by NTSA and gives room to the transport authority to outsource inspection services from other providers.
“Every vehicle that has been operated for a period exceeding four years from the recorded date of manufacture shall be subjected to inspection at intervals to be determined by the authority,” the new law reads.
“An inspection under subsection (2) shall be conducted by the Authority or persons authorised in writing by the Authority."
PSV drivers have, on their part, been handed reprieve in the deletion of the law which required that they undergo compulsory testing after every two years to ascertain their compliance.
"The aim is to provide for practicability in the operation of the transport industry and ease implementation of the Act," Kamket said.
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