It is finally here, the Smart Driving Licenses will soon be here. The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) plans to launch the smart driving license this July with a view of replacing old paper-based ones to help in curbing rogue drivers on roads. This is according to the body’s Director of Road Safety, Njeri Waithaka.
According to Waithaka, the tech-based driving license will be fitted with an electronic chip similar to SIM cards that will contain vital details of the driver’s identity and records that can easily be retrieved electronically for reference.
“All Kenyans will be required to have the new license that will be launched in phases to give time to people who have renewed their tradition licenses for several months,” said the NTSA Director of Road Safety.
For the smart card, motorists will have to visit designated centers where their passport size photo will be taken and fingerprints and signature recorded on national database. This will be easy for NTSA to monitor every motorist.
She now says that the modern driving license will play a huge role in cracking down drivers who do not obey traffic rules. Most road accidents in Kenya are as a result of careless driving, a menace NTSA is keen on reducing.
Type of information contained
Smart driving licences contain all the drivers’ vital information that can be accessed whenever there is an incident or offense. It contains the vehicles’ information so that it becomes easy to identify the car owners and who to blame in the event that the car is involved in an accident. Driver’s blood type and the insurance cover are some of the vital info contained in a smart driving licence.
Renewal
Since this is a product of digitization, renewal is also done digitally. After the expiry of the set period that one should use the smart DL, they will not be required to fill in other papers to get a new one. All the information will be saved by the relevant authorities and drivers are only required to comply with that to have new licences.
Driving history
Unlike the paper driving licenses that do not record the offenses committed by the driver, the smart DLs will keep a record of all the drivers’ and ensure that they are accounted for. This will make it possible to administer fines and be able to apprehend the quack drivers.
Impact on stakeholders
Through the driving history contained in the smart DL, other stakeholders are aware of the type of driver one is. Companies are able to employ the driver with the least cases of road accidents judging by the history. Insurance firms are also able to determine what premiums should be paid by drivers after they review their driving history.
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