Kenya to implement instant fines for traffic violations to curb road deaths

Roads and Transport CS Davis Chirchir when he appeared before the Senate standing committee on Roads, Transport, and Housing over the concessioning JKIA to Adani Group on September 13, 2024. (Photo: X/Davis Chirchir)

By Lucy Mumbi
Thursday, September 18, 2025

Chirchir said the new system will use cameras at major junctions to automatically detect offenders and issue fines, cutting down on court backlogs and encouraging safer driving.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has announced that the government will soon implement instant fines for motorists who violate traffic rules, in a move aimed at reducing the rising number of road accidents across the country.

Speaking on Thursday during the official opening of the National Road Safety Conference in Mombasa, organised by NTSA, Chirchir said the system will use cameras at major junctions to automatically detect offenders and issue fines, cutting down on court backlogs and encouraging safer driving.

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He added that footage from the cameras will be relayed to an Intelligent Transport Management System in a central control room.

“We are in the final stages, and the Cabinet will issue a memo. We are bringing together the police, judiciary and NTSA as the enforcers. We already have the building blocks of the proposal, which will also determine how the instant fines collected will be shared,” Chirchir said.

The CS emphasised that the technology-driven approach is meant to capture road offences in real time and reduce court congestion.

“We do not want to overload our courts with petty offences. We understand that when there is instant discipline, people tend not to misbehave on the road,” he added.

The announcement comes as new NTSA data shows that Kenya has recorded 3,397 road crash deaths in the first nine months of 2025, roughly 12 fatalities daily. This represents 28 more deaths than in the same period last year, with a total of 17,270 people affected by crashes, 291 more than in 2024. Pedestrians accounted for 1,285 fatalities, followed by 858 motorcyclists, 568 passengers and 309 drivers.

The government said it is, however, still deliberating on funding and maintaining the system to ensure its long-term effectiveness in addressing reckless driving.

The surge in fatalities since the launch of the National Transport Action Response Plan 2024-2028 prompted the government to implement a five-year National Road Safety Action Plan targeting reckless drivers, accident hotspots and high-risk behaviours such as drink-driving.

“Another major risk behaviour is driving under the influence of alcohol. To address this challenge, the Traffic (Drink Driving) Regulations, 2025, have been developed,” the NTSA said in its strategy document.

The agency also noted that fatal crashes are highly concentrated in the evenings, with 26 per cent of accidents in Nairobi and 30 per cent nationwide occurring between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm, when reduced congestion, poor visibility and alcohol consumption increase risks.

The government has also unveiled major road infrastructure projects to reduce fatalities. These include the expansion of the Rironi-Mau Summit highway, the dualling of the Kwa Jomvu-Mariakani road, upgrades along the Nyali-Mtwapa-Kilifi corridor, and improvements to the Kitale-Morpus road linking Kenya to South Sudan.

Additionally, blackspot upgrades are ongoing at Ngata Bridge in Nakuru, the Bonje area in Kilifi and the Kisumu-Kakamega highway.

In Nairobi, KURA is constructing 13 pedestrian footbridges along the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on Outer Ring Road to enhance pedestrian safety.