The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has issued a public notice warning Kenyan motorists against customizing their number plates.
NTSA says the action by a section of motor vehicle owners was in violation of Rule 5(a) of the Traffic (Registration Plates) Rules 2016.
The 2016 Traffic Act clearly states that a vehicle’s registration shall be rectangular, have each letter and number on the plate consisting of optically recognizable characters.
IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE: The Authority's attention is drawn to the widespread violation of Rule 5(a) of the Traffic (Registration Plates) Rules 2016 as evidenced by the large number of vehicles using registration plates not issued by the Authority @Ma3Route @InteriorKE. pic.twitter.com/xmlAvfjmtM
— NTSA KENYA (@ntsa_kenya) December 7, 2020
The characters are also required to be 75 millimeters high and each part of the letter and number must be at least 15 millimeters broad. The Act prescribes the total width taken up by each letter to be 47.5 mm and the numbers 44.5mm except for the letter ‘I’ and number ‘1’.
At the same time, the Authority noted that newly registered motorbikes were using printed papers indicating the registration as opposed to the required plates.
Motor vehicle and bike owners whose plates are not duly recognized by the authority have been advised to cease their usage failure to which they will be prosecuted.
According to the 2016 Traffic Act, “a person who contravenes any of the provision of these rules, for which no specific penalty is provided in the Act shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.”
