• His remarks on Monday come a day before schools reopen for the First Term in the 2024 school calendar.
• Musumba encouraged students to speak up in the event that the driver of their vehicle starts to speed or carelessly steers the vehicle.
Image: FILE
The National Transport and Safety Authority has asked public transport vehicles and school bus drivers to be extra cautious as schools reopen for the new term to avoid accidents.
NTSA Road Safety Manager Samuel Musumba said the reopening of schools comes with an increased number of commuters and road safety challenges such as accidents are likely as operators scramble to capitalise on the ready availability of passengers.
“We wish to caution all drivers to be very careful during this period. We ask drivers to avoid speeding in an effort to make more trips, it’s dangerous. Ensure also discipline is adhered to in your vehicles, all students must belt up and monitor to ensure no cases of indiscipline like alcohol consumption happen in your vehicles,” Musumba said.
His remarks on Monday come a day before schools reopen for the First Term in the 2024 school calendar.
Musumba further urged matatu operators to ensure their vehicles are in optimum working condition and are fully insured before putting them on the road.
He said with increased travel during the Christmas festive season, operators may not have taken time to service the vehicles by now.
"As drivers, ensure again that your documents are in good record. As much as possible, again we caution drivers to avoid night travel. Remember these are students and are required in school during daytime,” he added while calling on students to also exercise self-discipline during travel and to avoid boarding overloaded vehicles.
He further encouraged students to speak up in the event that the driver of their vehicle starts to speed or carelessly steers the vehicle.
“To parents, we ask that you make early arrangements for your child to leave home on time and ensure you note the number plate of the vehicle they board. Take the mobile number of the driver if need be for easy communication during and after the journey,” Musumba said.
The safety officer asked schools that have made arrangements to pick up learners from a central point on arrival in urban areas to make the pickups early saying action will be taken against schools whose buses will still be on the road at night.
According to the Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2017, school buses are not allowed to operate between 10pm and 5am.
“Ensure also that the buses are in good condition, legal action will be taken against schools that will be found using unroadworthy vehicles to transport students,” Musumba warned.
He said NTSA will be doing patrols to ensure the safety of all road users during this week when roads are expected to be busy.