NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 5 – The government has issued a travel advisory urging parents, students and drivers to prioritise safety on the roads, as schools across Kenya reopen for the 2026 academic year.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir cautioned against the use of unregulated and illegal transport, which has been linked to several recent road crashes. Parents were advised to ensure that children use.
Chirchir advised learners to travel early and avoid late-night travel whenever possible, adding that many serious accidents occur at night due to poor visibility, fatigue and reckless driving.
“Choose safe and compliant transport for your children. -Teach children the basics of road safety; looking both ways before crossing and using designated crossings. The safety of our children is everyone’s responsibility,” Chirchir said.
On the other hand, CS Chirchir urged parents to report reckless behaviour to the authorities, including the National Police Service.
“Let us uphold our traffic laws, be mindful of one another, and ensure that every learner arrives safely at school and returns home at the end of the day. Report reckless behaviour to the authorities @ntsa_kenya, and @NPSOfficial_KE, your vigilance can save lives,” Chirchir added.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has released a set of instructions to parents and schools as thousands of children head back to school for Term 1 2026.
Following the long holiday break, vehicle owners are expected to have proactively ensured that any vehicles used for transporting children are properly maintained, roadworthy, and fully licensed, including valid insurance, road service licenses and inspection certificates.
To further protect school children, NTSA is strongly appealing to parents and guardians not to permit their children to board any non-compliant vehicles. Previous compliance checks and inspections, the Authority says, highlighted major defects in school transport vehicles, including faulty or non-transmitting speed limiters, defective brakes, missing or faulty seat belts, unstable seats, malfunctioning door locks among other critical safety issues.
“We advise motor vehicle owners to take advantage of the next few days before schools reopen and present their vehicles for the mandatory annual inspection, as all NTSA motor vehicle inspection centers are open and operational,” the statement reads in part.
NTSA is also directing speed limiter vendors to ensure that all gadgets installed on vehicles fully comply with the requirements of KS 2295:2018 including proper functioning, speed limiting, data storage, and real-time transmission to the NTSA system.
“By adhering to these measures and working together, we can significantly reduce risks and ensure the safe return of our children to school. We assure the Nation that multi-agency road safety compliance checks will continue uninterrupted to uphold the highest standards of safety for our children.”
