Safety and Travel
Front of the card
“The Smart Driving License will help in profiling
driver behavior,” she said. The profiles will help
track driver behavior and allow NTSA view driver’s
past criminal records, if any.
Ms Githinji also noted “the third identification
chip will protect motor vehicles owners from
fraudulent registration and tame forgery,” adding
that NTSA’s online portal is now “updated to allow
people to pay for the sticker before proceeding
for their annual roadworthiness inspection.”
Motor Vehicle owners will be required to
apply for the third identifier sticker online and
the Smart Driving license through the Integrated
Transport Management System (TIMS), available
on the NTSA website. Those applying for the third
identifier sticker will pay a one off fee of Shs 700.
The smart DL will be voluntary to replace, the
licensing director said in an interview with Safari
Njema in Nairobi.
Motor vehicles will have the third generation
identification stickers on the windscreen. The
sticker will bear details such as vehicle registration
number, chassis number, ownership, and inspection
details, the director said.
“The sticker’s security features will help in the
fight against crime, as carjacking will be reduced.
Currently, it is easy for car thieves to get away with
the crime because they can easily interchange
number plates,” Ms. Jacqueline noted.
In Kenya, number plate forgery is a common
phenomenon, motorists are exposed to possible
arrest and sometimes end up charged and
prosecuted wrongfully for crimes they did not
commit as most criminals use fake plates similar
to those of an innocent car owner, the NTSA officer
said.
The microchip monitoring devices will be
connected to NTSA servers which will relay
information on the vehicle in real-time, helping
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the law enforcers determine the authenticity of
the vehicle’s registration.
The chip will help detect stolen cars through
various checkpoints and automate statistics on
traffic volumes therefore assisting the Government
know the number of vehicles in the country.
The transport safety agency says that its new
identification sticker will have a life span of up to
ten years. The sticker has tamper proof security
features. Any attempt to remove the sticker will
automatically destroy it, protecting the sticker
from forgery.
The NTSA announcement comes in the
backdrop of official publication in the Kenya
gazette of legal notice on implementation of traffic
rules 2016 notice 62 of April 15th.
The new third identification stickers rule
exempts Motorbikes, three-wheeler taxis and
tractors from having the electronic chip sticker.
The smart driving license will also contain a
passport photo of the driver for easy identification.
The newly introduced smart DL has a chip
that will hold driver information and also contain
a points system. Drivers will lose points upon
commitiing traffic offences. For example, when
stopped for an overlapping offence, a driver will
lose a single point out of twenty allocated weekly
over and above normal fines. After a week, the
driver gets another 20 points. However, the history
remains.
Drivers who deplete points allocated will
automatically lose licenses and will have to retrain
to get their licenses back.
NTSA in March, signed a Sh2.1 billion
contract with the National Bank of Kenya for the
manufacture and formulation of the smart licenses
aimed at revolutionizing enforcement of traffic
laws.
Back of the card showing chip
September 2017