The Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) has called for the immediate implementation of an on-the-spot traffic fine system payable through mobile money, moments after the National Transport and Safety Authority NTSA) released a list of instant fines for drivers found violating the traffic rules.
In their proposal addressed to President William Ruto, the Inspector General, the chief justice, NTSA, and other authorities, KTA argues that they seek to do away with the usual court-based traffic enforcement, which they say is costly and inefficient.
The association is now pushing the NTSA to intensify the implementation of the instant fines, noting that the move will decongest the courts.
They argue that introducing on-the-spot fines would improve judicial efficiency, enhance road safety, and curb corruption.
According to KTA, many minor and administrative traffic offences are unnecessarily channelled through the courts, leading to backlogs, repeated court appearances, and wasted time for motorists and enforcement agencies.
“The current system whereby most traffic offences are channelled through the courts has, over time, proven to be inefficient, costly, and counter-productive. It consumes disproportionate judicial time, imposes avoidable financial and opportunity costs on road users, and creates unnecessary congestion within the criminal justice system for offences that are largely minor, administrative, and non-criminal in nature,” the statement added.
The association further argues that the introduction of instant fines payable through mobile money services would allow traffic offenders, especially motorists, to settle penalties with ease and immediately, thereby reducing bribery opportunities.
KTA’s letter comes at a time when NTSA is planning to introduce an instant fine for motorists, as the county gears towards the digitisation of services, which will also see the reduction of traffic officers on the roads.
The fines, issued under the Traffic Minor Offences Act of 2016, target offenders who drive without a license, speed, and fail to carry vehicle documents. The fines will range from Ksh 500 to Ksh 10,000 depending on the offence committed.
The offences of driving without identification plates affixed or not fixed in the prescribed manner, driving without a valid inspection certificate, causing obstruction on the road, and an owner or operator of a PSV employing an unlicensed PSV driver or conductor each attract a fine of Ksh 10,000.
Similarly, driving a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) while unqualified, driving on a pavement or pedestrian walkway, driving on a footpath, an unlicensed person driving or acting as a PSV driver or conductor, failure to stop when required by a police officer, each attracts a fine of Ksh 5,000.
Driving without a valid licence endorsement for the class of vehicle, failure to obey the directions of a police officer, failure to obey traffic signs, or failure to display reflective triangles or lifesavers when required each attract a fine of Ksh 3,000.
At the same time, Failure to renew a driving licence, failing to carry and produce a driving licence on demand, and carrying a motorcycle with more than one pillion passenger each, attracts a fine of Ksh 1,000, while a pedestrian who willfully obstructs the free passage of vehicles is liable to a fine of Ksh 500.
According to the transporters, the proposal aligns with the country’s digital transformation agenda, noting that several neighbouring countries have successfully adopted similar instant fine payment systems despite having less advanced digital ecosystems.
On overspeeding, NTSA rolls a penalty depending on how the driver is overspeeding, with the penalty starting with a warning for exceeding the speed limit by between 1 and 5 kilometres per hour, to a fine of Ksh 10,000 for those exceeding limits by up to 20 kilometres per hour
The countries that are currently using the instant fine system include France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece and Portugal, among others.
KTA claims the system would improve government revenue collection by ensuring traffic penalties are remitted directly to official accounts, therefore minimising leakages associated with cash-based payments-Kenyans.co.ke.