The government has unveiled a comprehensive set of draft traffic regulations that promise to reshape road safety and transport operations in Kenya starting 2025.
The proposed rules, announced by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, aim to tighten vehicle inspections, enhance school transport standards, and crack down on drunk driving.
Dubbed the Traffic (Motor Vehicle Inspection) Rules, 2025, the draft regulations will require all vehicles older than four years including PSVs, school buses, and commercial vehicles to undergo mandatory periodic inspections at government-approved centres. Additional checks will be done during ownership changes, post-accident repairs, or structural modifications.
Vehicles that pass the inspection will be issued compliance stickers, while non-compliant ones may face fines, impoundment, or licence suspensions. The government will also license private inspection centres and individual testers, who will operate under strict oversight to curb corruption.
Alongside this, the Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2025 propose a safety-first approach to school transport, mandating features such as seat belts, fire extinguishers, and telematics systems in school vehicles.
The rules also define driver qualifications, limit operation hours, and ban unauthorised vehicle use, while setting clear standards for signage and colour coding.
To combat intoxicated driving, the Traffic (Drink Driving) Rules, 2025 will introduce legal alcohol limits, enable roadside testing via breathalysers, blood, and urine samples, and establish penalties for refusal or repeat offences. Courts will accept certified test results, and habitual offenders could lose their licences.
Additionally, the government is finalising the National Transport and Safety (Operation of Commercial Vehicles) Regulations, which will regulate driver work hours, introduce electronic logging, and enforce cargo tracking to prevent fatigue-related accidents and improve logistics safety.
If passed, these rules will mark one of the most significant reforms in Kenya’s traffic management and road safety enforcement in recent years.
