- The regulations as highlighted in a notice include NTSA draft (Operation of Commercial Service Vehicle) Regulations, 2024, and Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2024.
- The public participation will take place in 14 regions.
Image: FILE
Kenyans have been urged to give their views on two regulations aimed at enhancing road safety.
The regulations as highlighted in a notice on Tuesday include NTSA draft (Operation of Commercial Service Vehicle) Regulations, 2024, and Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2024.
“In the spirit of public participation, as envisaged in the Constitution, the Authority hereby invites the public to submit their Memorandum on the draft regulations and to participate in the public forums,” part of the notice by NTSA reads.
The public participation will take place in 14 regions.
The regions listed by the National Transport and Safety Authority included Garissa, Meru, Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Kericho, Nakuru, Nyeri, Kilifi, Mombasa, Taita Taveta and Embu.
“The dates and venues for the forum will be communicated to the public in due course,” reads the notice in part.
However, the authority noted that the public may view and download the draft regulations from the NTSA website, www.ntsa.go.ke.
Stakeholders have been advised to submit a memorandum through hand delivery to any NTSA Regional office before May 10, 2024.
For the draft (Operation of Commercial Service Vehicle) Regulations, 2024, NTSA seeks to regulate all commercial service vehicles whose tare weight is above 348 kilograms operating on a public road in Kenya.
It also gives NTSA power to suspend or revoke any license issued under these Regulations in instances where the license holder fails or neglects to comply with the laws.
However, the laws also give room for a person aggrieved by NTSA’s action taken under these laws to appeal the decision within 14 days.
Anyone who will proceed to operate a heavy commercial service that has breached any of the laws will be deemed to have committed an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or, both.
The regulation also suggested that Commercial Service Vehicle operator will be required to pay Sh2,000 to apply for their licenses and Sh500 for Commercial Service Vehicle Road licenses per vehicle.
At the same time, NTSA has also released new rules concerning school transportation, which also outline how other drivers should behave on the road.
In the Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2024, draft, all drivers will be prohibited from overtaking a school bus that has extended its stop signs.
These rules require all school buses to be equipped with stop sign arms and flashing red lights to signal to other drivers when students are boarding or alighting.
"All drivers must stop and refrain from overtaking a school vehicle when the stop signal arm is extended and the red lights on the front and rear sides of the school vehicle are flashing. Failure to comply constitutes an offense, and upon conviction, offenders may have their driving licenses suspended for at least six months," the proposal states.
Additionally, overtaking other vehicles near schools will also be considered an offense, aimed at ensuring the safety of children.
Violators of these proposed regulations may face a fine of up to Ksh20,000.
As outlined in the new proposals, all vehicles, following practices in Europe, will be equipped with stop arms.
These arms will be extensions mounted on the front and rear right-hand sides of the buses. Moreover, all school buses will have red indicators installed.
"Each school vehicle will have dual red light indicators mounted on the uppermost part of the front and rear sides of the bus," the statement explains.
"The driver will activate the stop signal arm and dual red light indicators on the uppermost part of the front and rear sides of the vehicle while students are crossing the roads," the regulations specify.