Speed governor maker cashes in on new traffic law
Mr Henry Onyango of Eldoret Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre inspects a matatu for compliance with the new National Transport and Safety Authority rules. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA| FILE
What you need to know:
- The managing director of Dalcom says that some customers have already started enjoying services of his equipment
- Omata speed limiters cost between Sh30,000 and Sh35,000
David Kiarie is upbeat about the ongoing plan by the government to ensure that matatus fit digital speed limiters.
Installation of the speed control gadgets is among measures spearheaded by the Ministry of Transport to help curb road accidents. The regulations require that public service vehicles and commercial trucks with tare weight of over 3,048 kilogrammes fit tamper-proof speed recording devices.
Mr Kiarie is the founder and boss of Dalcom Enterprises, the makers of Omata speed governor. The equipment is among those approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards for use in vehicles.
The managing director of Dalcom says that some customers have already started enjoying services of his equipment.
“We have been urging motorists to fit their vehicles with gadgets to avoid the last-minute rush. Kenyans are fond of doing things at the last minute. This may be costly to such motorists because the government had given transporters enough time — three months, which elapsed at the end of March,” says Mr Kiare.
On Monday evening, the day before the new traffic laws came into force, Mr Kiarie had sold about 5,000 gadgets and he expected to sell about 20,000 as transporters move to instal the digital devices.
INFORMATION CAN BE DOWNLOADED
According to the businessman, the new gadget has been improved from analogue to digital. It has the capacity to record the speed of a vehicle and store the information for several days. He adds that the difference between the old gadgets and the new ones is that with the latter, apart from recording and storing speed data, the information can also be downloaded.
“This is important because the work of traffic police officers has been made easier with the use of the gadget. Authorities will be able to download information before using it as evidence in court against rogue motorists. Apart from the few cameras that the government has been using to crack down on speeding drivers, a lasting solution because if all vehicles are fitted with the gadgets, all rogue drivers will be arrested,” notes Mr Kiare.
“Drivers used to tamper with the old speed governors. Their days are over because this one is tamper proof,” he adds.
Omata speed limiters cost between Sh30,000 and Sh35,000.
“The beauty of it is that it is a Kenyan-made product. Local technicians will be working to improve it every five years because its lifespan is five years, as configured during assembling. We are thankful to the government for being supportive,” says Mr Kiare whose company started developing the gadget in 2003.
Once in use, Kenya will become the second country in Africa after Zambia to use digital gadgets. Since Zambia started using the digital speed limiters, the entrepreneur says, the number of accidents on the roads reduced drastically. He adds that he is happy that Kenya is following suit.
Save many lives
“Kenyans are known to be innovative. Even the one (speed governor) being implemented in Zambia was just copied from a Kenyan. We thank Transport Cabinet secretary Michael Kamau for ensuring that these speed limiters come into use. We will be able to save many lives on our roads,” he says.
Apart from Dalcom, other makers of speed governors have presented their gadgets for testing and trial at the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Some of them have qualified for use in the market, according to the rules and requirements set out by the government.
