Kenya Traffic Act, Licensing and Operator Obligations
What this domain tests
Your knowledge of the legal paperwork that must be valid before the wheels turn: driving licence class, insurance, inspection and registration, plus the operator duties that sit behind a commercial vehicle under the Traffic Act (Cap 403) and NTSA rules.
Documents that must be valid
- Driving licence of the correct class for the vehicle. In the commonly used Kenyan classification, Class B covers private cars and light vans, Class C light lorries, Class D public service vehicles, and Class E heavy lorries and combinations. A private car licence does not authorise driving a matatu.
- Insurance: third-party cover is the legal minimum for private vehicles; PSVs and commercial operators carry passenger-liability and comprehensive cover, and the certificate must match the vehicle.
- Vehicle inspection certificate from NTSA, current for the vehicle class - PSVs are inspected more frequently than private cars.
- Registration and, for PSVs, the operator licence and displayed PSV markings and badges.
Duties after a crash
The law requires you to stop, give what assistance you can, exchange particulars and report the incident at the nearest police station as soon as practicable. Failing to stop is a serious offence regardless of who caused the collision.
Worked example
A police officer stops you driving a matatu and asks for documents. Your private Class B licence, however long you have held it, does not cover a PSV. The vehicle is insured and inspected, but you are still committing an offence by driving it, and the operator is exposed to prosecution for permitting an unlicensed driver.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming a receipt is insurance, assuming an expired inspection sticker will not be noticed, and confusing "produce documents later" with "I had no valid licence at the time".