New number plates and driving licences set for next year

Kenya will launch digital driving licences and new generation number plates within 18 months in an effort to curb reckless driving after signing a deal with Chinese firm Huawei and Copy Cat.

The smart driving licences will allow the storage and monitoring of drivers habits and record violations through a centralised IT system hosted by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

Huawei is expected to build the mobile technology network that will allow transmission of data from the roads to the NTSA central command system.

NTSA director-general Francis Meja said Wednesday the project has started and expect five items including the launch of the smart driving licences, motor vehicle registration, fresh car inspection and new licensing regime for public transporters to be completed within 18 months.

The licences will have chips containing information such as personal identification number, contacts, past traffic offences, fines previously paid and warnings, and police officers will have devices to read the information and add charge sheets to databases as necessary. This will be backed by the new generation number plates that will be harder to replicate or forge.

The smart driving licences will support the planned demerit point system for errant drivers in which those who accumulate offences over time will be barred from driving.

READ: Ministry set to introduce ‘smart’ driving licences

Mr Meja said that the planned system would enable law enforcement agencies reduce common traffic offences such as speeding, overlapping, dangerous overtaking and reckless driving through system monitoring of car numbers and stickers.

It will also eliminate fraud and corruption within the road transport sector.

“This module will improve information sharing between government agencies and the insurance industry and lead to effective monitoring of driving habits and record violations,” said Mr Meja.

“This will not only enable more effective enforcement but also enable the insurance industry to calculate annual vehicle insurance premiums depending on driving records with more citations attracting higher premiums.”

It will not be the first time the government is considering introducing smart driving licences.

In 2009, the ministry identified a consortium to supply second-generation driving licences.

M/S Semlex Europe SA and Compulynx Limited of Belgium were expected to begin work on the new generation cards to replace the current documents once the Finance Ministry signed the agreement.

READ: Consortium picked to process ‘smart’ driving licences

Four years on, this is yet to happen.

The fresh move comes as the transport regulator prepares to start a new car inspection scheme in January in line with the new Traffic Act’s requirements.

All vehicles more than four years old will be required to undergo mandatory inspections as the government races to remove unroadworthy cars from roads.

READ: All cars older than four years to be inspected

The authority is preparing regulations to guide costing of the inspection which could be outsourced to the private sector. Inspection will be conducted annually.

The move is among stringent safety regulations, including the crackdown on drink-driving, meant to reduce road accidents and deaths by more than 20 per cent this year.

It is the first time motorists face such inspections which are subjected to commercial and public transport vehicles.

Kenya Motor Repairers Association chairman Bernard Ngore said that they have launched a standards manual on evaluation of inspection centres which would be important for those setting up inspection units.

“In other countries where they do motor vehicle inspection such as the UK it is garages that carry out the inspections,” he said.

Motorists will foot the bill for the inspections.

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