Following the ongoing crackdown on un-roadworthy and defective motor vehicles which has generated much public debate, Police Headquarters issues the following information in the public interest. This is to clear any doubt on the part of the public, in general, and motorists, in particular, as to the noble intentions of the whole exercise, which is the restoration of sanity and safety on our roads.

TYPES OF INSPECTION

Initial Inspection - This shall be an inspection which a new motor vehicle must receive when it is newly operated.

Periodic Inspection - This shall be an inspection which a motor vehicle must receive when it is to be operated continually after the term of validity of the motor vehicle inspection certificate has expired.

Modification Inspection - This shall be an inspection which a motor vehicle must receive when there are changes in the length, height, width, maximum payload and other major specifications.

Inspection of Vehicles Involved in Traffic Accidents - This shall be an inspection which a motor vehicle must receive when it is damaged by traffic accidents.

On Roads Random Inspection - This shall be an inspection which a motor vehicle must receive when it is picked up at random on the road.

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS (EXHAUST EMISSIONS TESTING)

Visual Inspection (all vehicles) - The exhaust shall not emit dense blue or clearly visible black smoke.

Standard Emission Test - The concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) shall not exceed 0.5 per cent volume and hydrocarbons (HC) concentrations shall not exceed 0.12 per cent/volume

ROADWORTHINESS INSPECTIONS

This is about safety inspection and should not be confused with service which contains direct instructions or routine maintenance tasks usually determined in scope and frequency by the vehicle’s usage and the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturer.

For operators’ licensing purposes, the ‘user’ of the vehicle is responsible for it being maintained in a safe and roadworthy condition at all times when in use on the road. The user of the vehicle is defined as either the driver (in the case of an owner – driver) or the person or firm who employs the driver.

Regular safety inspections are essential to an effective roadworthiness maintenance system. Although primarily undertaken in the interest of safe vehicle operation, roadworthiness inspections together with prompt remedial action are also cost effective. The early indication of wear, damage or maladjustment may prevent sudden failure of a component resulting in unscheduled downtime or prevent wear becoming so advanced that premature replacement becomes necessary.

In any event, a roadworthiness safety inspection must include all the items covered by the statutory annual test; operational needs must not override safety considerations.

Why Road Side Traffic Checks are Necessary

All motor vehicles emit pollutants which affect air quality and contribute to acid rain and the threat of global warming, among others.

Road side checks are used: -

• To take the worst polluting vehicles off the road
• To take un-roadworthy vehicles off the road
• To check on vehicles that do not comply with the law as far as construction, equipment and use of vehicles is concerned
• To check on vehicles operating without the statutory papers or using fake documents
• To make the motoring public aware of the importance of maintaining vehicles and keeping to the legal emission limits and safety standards all year and not just at the time of the test.
• A valid inspection certificate/sticker by no means guarantees that a vehicle is in compliance with mechanical/emission standards. Unintended deterioration of mechanical/emission performance may cause some vehicles to exceed standards. More likely, drivers may make their vehicles “clean for a day” in order to pass the test.
• The ingenuity (and dishonesty) of drivers goes much further. Some are willing to swap entire parts in and out of the vehicle in order to pass the test. Some repair shops will “rent” a functioning headlight to pass a safety test, for example.
• The problem of intended or unintended deterioration in mechanical/emission performance has led to the need to conduct roadside inspections as part of the overall enforcement program. Roadside inspections can be used as a way of imposing mechanical and emission standards on such vehicles.
• Roadside inspections can be an efficient means of identifying un-roadworthy and high emitting vehicles and forcing them to be repaired.
• Roadside inspections complement a more comprehensive motor vehicle inspection system.
• The primary function of roadside inspection should be the identification of mechanically unsound and gross polluting vehicles.
• Clearly a roadside inspection is more technically demanding then checking for a valid inspection sticker on the windshield. Typically such inspections are carried out by teams of Police and Vehicle Inspectors. Vehicles can be selected for roadside inspection randomly or by visually screening for particularly smoky or mechanically unsound vehicles.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PSV WINDOWS

PSV window glasses are to be made of clear glass.

Windscreen Glass - Critical defects to be checked on windscreen glass shall be the following:-

(a) There shall be no crack longer than 2 cm or “star” damage greater in diameter than 1.5 cm in the area of the windscreen immediately in the driver’s line of vision.
(b) There shall be no crack in the windscreen longer than 15 cm in any position.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE

• A vehicle Inspection Certificate/sticker confirms that at the time of test, without dismantling, the vehicle meets the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards required by law. It does not mean that the vehicle is roadworthy for the life of the certificate/sticker.
• The test shows the state of the vehicle only on the day it is tested. The motorists and vehicle operators should make sure their vehicles are properly maintained. Regular maintenance and servicing should ensure that the car is not allowed to become mechanically un-roadworthy.
• In a nutshell, the certificate/sticker issued covers the vehicle for one year as the law stipulates, although the certificate/sticker is no guarantee that the vehicle is legally roadworthy except at the time of examination.
• Generally the activities of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit are governed by the Traffic Act CAP 403 Laws of Kenya and Subsidiary Rules there under and other legal notices that are in force, in conjunction with KS 1515 “Code of practice for inspection of road vehicles” which is gazetted under gazette notice 1924 of 31st March, 2000.

(GIDEON M. KIBUNJAH)
FOR: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

5th September 2006