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| Traffic surveillance cameras |
Kenya’s Instant Fines Traffic Management System is now live to curb traffic violations and improve road safety. It's a digital traffic enforcement platform that automatically detects road offences and issues traffic violation fine notifications via SMS to drivers found to have breached road regulations. The notifications will include the nature of the offence, including the location, time and fine payable.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is the agency assigned to monitor and manage the system. Offences of road violators will be recorded, using the driver's details or vehicle profile, on the agency's digital services platform. According to the agency, the process is fully automated and operates without human intervention.
To make this system work as expected, traffic surveillance cameras have been installed on roads and major junctions to capture and record drivers' offences such as speeding, running red lights and other violations. Once the cameras capture the offender, they'll read the vehicle details, such as the number plate, and link it to NTSA registration records before generating and sending a violation notice.
NTSA made it clear that drivers whom the system fines will have only seven days to pay through KCB Group channels. The branch network of KCB Group channels was integrated into the digital traffic enforcement platform as a fines payment gateway for offenders. The fine will be recorded in the drivers' NTSA account so that they'll be able to settle the payment through the digital channels linked to the authority’s platform.
The agency also said unpaid fines will accumulate interest over time. It added that drivers with outstanding penalties could face restrictions when trying to access services offered by the NTSA, including renewing their driving licences, transferring vehicle ownership, or completing other related transactions.
Notably, this digital traffic enforcement platform is a shift from the traditional system where traffic police stopped offenders on the roadside. It could affect millions of drivers who usually violate traffic laws because direct interactions between them and traffic police, a long-standing source of bribery complaints on Kenyan roads, has been cut off.
Rather than being stopped by traffic police or required to appear in court, drivers who violate traffic rules can now be detected automatically through surveillance cameras and centralised data systems. Kenyan government said the system is for the purpose of making traffic enforcement more transparent and more efficient by reducing manual processes.
The rollout is part of the government's effect to modernise traffic monitoring and address the country’s high rate of road accidents. Notably, thousands of people lose their lives on Kenyan roads every year, due to over-speeding and reckless driving—that's just to mention few among the many other causes.
The programme follows a directive issued by President William Ruto on March 2, ordering the Ministry of Roads and Transport and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to implement the instant fines programme and install surveillance cameras in six major urban centres. The government hopes that the system will encourage better compliance with traffic laws and reduce road accidents.
