Kenya NTSA PSV Bus Test common mistakes
Kenya NTSA PSV Bus Test · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating the speed limit as the only speed rule and ignoring the PSV-specific cap and the posted limit for the road class, so the candidate answers 100 km/h for a bus on a highway where the PSV limit applies.
Candidates memorise the general private-car limits and assume they carry over to PSVs, because the general limits are the ones repeated in driving-school material.
What to do instead
Build a one-page table of speed limits by road class and vehicle type, with the PSV/bus column highlighted, and practise 20 mixed questions where the vehicle type is the only variable that changes the answer.
Answering that a PSV driver may carry standing passengers whenever the vehicle is licensed for it, without checking the route, the seating/standing certificate and the overload rule.
Candidates confuse 'licensed to carry standing passengers' with 'unlimited standing', and forget that overloading is judged against the licensed capacity, not against how much room there is.
What to do instead
Learn the overload rule as a single sentence: capacity is a licensed number, not a feeling; then work through three scenarios (licensed standing allowed, standing not allowed, excess over licensed capacity) and state the offence and consequence for each.
Reading a regulatory sign's shape and colour but not its exact meaning, for example treating a blue circular sign as a warning and a red triangle as a prohibition, or confusing 'no parking' with 'no stopping'.
Candidates learn signs by picture recognition rather than by the shape-colour-meaning system, so they guess when a sign is slightly unfamiliar.
What to do instead
Learn the system first (circles = orders/prohibitions, triangles = warnings, rectangles = information, octagon = stop), then drill the small set of sign pairs that are commonly confused, writing the exact permitted action for each.
Skipping the pre-departure walk-around in the answer and going straight to 'check mirrors and drive off', omitting tyres, lights, brakes, fluids, emergency exits and the fire extinguisher.
Candidates answer from the point of view of a car driver, where the pre-departure routine is short and mostly about mirrors and seat position.
What to do instead
Memorise a fixed sequence for a PSV: exterior walk-around (tyres and tread, lights and indicators, bodywork, exits, extinguisher, first-aid kit, wheel nuts), then cab checks (brakes, steering, fluids, warning lights, mirrors, seat and seatbelt), then passenger-safety items before moving.
Answering that the driver should brake hard and steer sharply to avoid a hazard, instead of braking progressively, keeping the vehicle stable and using the mirrors before changing direction.
Candidates transfer instinctive car-driving reactions to a bus without accounting for the higher centre of gravity, longer stopping distance and the effect of unsecured passengers.
What to do instead
Practise hazard questions with a fixed answer structure: scan and anticipate, ease off and brake progressively, check mirrors and blind spots, signal, then steer smoothly; explicitly state why harsh steering in a bus risks rollover and passenger injury.
Leaving passenger safety out of emergency answers, for example describing an evacuation without mentioning emergency exits, the fire extinguisher, assisting vulnerable passengers, or securing the vehicle first.
Candidates focus on the mechanics of the incident and forget that the driver's duty of care to passengers continues through and after the emergency.
What to do instead
Use a checklist for every emergency question: stop safely and secure the vehicle, switch off the engine, warn other traffic, assess the danger, open and direct passengers to exits, assist those who need help, account for passengers, then call for help.
Judging a safe following distance by a fixed number of metres regardless of speed and road conditions, instead of using a time gap that grows with speed and with rain, darkness or poor visibility.
Candidates memorise a single distance figure and do not connect it to speed, reaction time and the much longer stopping distance of a loaded bus.
What to do instead
Learn the time-gap method (a minimum gap in seconds, doubled in wet or poor-visibility conditions) and practise converting it to distance at 50, 80 and 100 km/h so the relationship between speed and gap becomes obvious.
Answering fatigue questions with 'drink coffee and continue' or 'open the window', rather than stopping, resting and respecting driving-hour limits.
Candidates treat fatigue as a comfort problem rather than an impairment, and underestimate how strictly PSV driving hours are regulated.
What to do instead
Learn the driving-hour and rest rules as numbers (maximum continuous driving, required rest breaks, daily limits) and answer every fatigue question with the same core action: stop in a safe place, rest, and only continue when fit.
Describing first aid that could worsen the injury, such as moving an unconscious casualty, removing a helmet, or giving food and drink to a seriously injured person, instead of following the airway-breathing-circulation priority.
Candidates rely on folk remedies and film-style rescues rather than a structured primary survey.
What to do instead
Memorise the primary survey order and the 'do not move unless there is immediate danger' rule, plus the specific actions for bleeding, burns, fractures and unconscious but breathing casualties; practise with short scenario questions.
Leaving the scene of a crash or moving the vehicle and casualties before it is safe and before details are exchanged, and failing to report the crash to the police within the required time.
Candidates confuse 'clear the road to avoid another crash' with 'drive away', and do not know the legal duties that arise after a crash involving injury.
What to do instead
Learn the crash-scene duties as a fixed order: stop, secure and warn, give first aid, call emergency services, exchange and record particulars, report to the police within the required period, and only move vehicles when it is safe and lawful to do so.