President William Ruto has assented to The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill which amended the Traffic Act to allow for the use of technology in enforcing traffic rules.
The new law also increases the fines that were to be imposed on motorists who fail to appear in court or pay the penalty as directed by the traffic police.
Initially, as had been detailed in the Traffic Act Cap 403, motorists who failed to appear in court as directed by police were to pay a fine of Ksh200.
However, the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill proposed to have the fine increased to Ksh2,000.
On the other hand, any person who tears or defaces a traffic offence notification that has been fixed to a car by the police will now pay a Ksh200,000 fine instead of the Ksh200.
"If any person, other than an authorised person, removes from a vehicle a police notification of a traffic offence which has been affixed thereto by a police officer in pursuance of this section, or any portion of such notification, or tears or defaces the same, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on a first conviction to a fine not exceeding Ksh200, and on each subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding Ksh500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months," reads the act in part.
"Delete the words "two hundred shillings (Ksh200), and on each subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred shillings (Ksh500)" and substitute therefore the words "two hundred thousand shillings (Ksh200,000, and on each subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings(Ksh500,000)," read the proposed bill.
Vehicle owners will also be required to inform police if they find that the traffic offence notification fixed on their vehicle has been torn or defaced.
This is to ensure that they are not held responsible for the offence. The information also had to be relayed to the police within two days either in writing or in person.
Those who fail to do so will now be paying a fine of Ksh2,000 from the current Ksh200.
Meanwhile, the Bill allows for the police to leverage technology in dealing with traffic offences on the roads.
Following Ruto's move to assent to the Bill, traffic police officers will be able to use technology to serve motorists and direct them to pay fines.
Meanwhile, instant fines are set to be introduced on the roads by the end of July following a directive issued by Ruto to Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
