NTSA cautions road users ahead of school holidaysThe National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has urged all players and stakeholders in the transport sector to be vigilant as schools are closing for the April holiday.
In a notice on Thursday, the authority called for close supervision of children and identification of safe vehicles to transport them, emphasizing that this would play a critical role in ensuring their safety.
The agency further appealed to road users to exercise caution, citing past occurrences where cases of reckless driving and distractions by students led to serious injuries and fatalities.
“Through close collaboration with law enforcement, parents/guardians, school management, transport service providers and school children, such incidences can be prevented,” the notice said.
“Working with the National Police Service during this period and Easter festivities, there will be a major focus on driver/conductor behavior, vehicle safety compliance and Usalama Barabarani education. All motorists are therefore required to practice road safety and responsibility for their action.”
NTSA revealed that they had suspended 288 licenses in the last six months and 420 drivers subjected to a driver retest following public reports of driver misconduct and speed violations recorded on the NTSA Intelligent Road Safety Management System (IRSMS) findings from safety compliance audits conducted on public service transport operators and court outcomes.
The notice comes days after a tragic incident occurred when a road accident led to the death of four students, leaving at least 19 with various injuries.
The accident involved a matatu that was ferrying students from the Ober Boys Boarding Comprehensive School in Homa Bay County.
The matatu, which was en route to Kisumu, collided with a sugarcane truck at Kibwon in Nyakach Subcounty.
In a separate event, a vehicle hit four students of Mbita High School after it veered off the road, resulting in the students being rushed to the hospital, barely moments after the Ober Boys incident.
The twin incidents drew widespread attention and concern, with many calling for improved road safety and more stringent enforcement of traffic regulations to prevent such incidents in the future.
