A motorist from Nandi is in shock after it the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) fined him KSh 10,000 for speeding, yet his truck was not even on the road at the time.
The man said he received a notification that his FAW truck registration number KDW 033X had exceeded the speed limit on a highway and was required to pay the fine. However, the truck was nowhere near the said road when the offence was recorded.
It later emerged that speed cameras had actually captured a Toyota NZE speeding, with registration number KBW 033X. The system is said to have misread the number plate and recorded it as KDW 033X, which belongs to his truck. The two number plates differ by only one letter, and that small mistake led to the wrong owner being penalised.
The incident has raised questions about how accurate NTSA's automated speed cameras are. While the cameras are meant to reduce manual policing and make enforcement consistent, this case shows that a small technical error can land an innocent driver in trouble.
The motorist is now forced to go through the process of contesting the fine, even though the photo evidence clearly shows a different type of vehicle. For many drivers, an NTSA notification is usually taken as correct, but this case proves that motorists should check the attached photo evidence before making any payment.
NTSA has been expanding its camera system across major roads in Kenya to curb speeding. However, Kenyans are now asking what help is available for those who are wrongly fined when the system makes a mistake.
This comes just days after NTSA was forced to launch investigations after reports that a traffic fine was paid to an account bearing an individual's name instead of the authority's official account.
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