Kiambu County traffic commandant chief inspector Gabriel Mulei has raised concern over the rising number of motorists being arrested with expired licenses.
Speaking in his office on Tuesday, Inspector Mulei said that the number of people being arrested with this offence was on the rise and personal drivers were the most affected.
He added that there will be no mercy for such offenders.
“Matatu drivers are mainly arrested for various reasons like lack of speed governors but personal vehicle drivers were the most affected when it comes to the offence of failing to renew their licenses,” he said.
The commandant added that most of those arrested claim that they did not know that their licenses had expired as they rarely looked at the document.
“We have arrested prominent people and businessmen who have the money to renew their licenses but they always claim that they did not know the licenses had expired. We can’t blame them because other than the license taking long to expire, the work that some of them do is tiring thus they are prone to forgetting such things," said Mulei.
The commandant also said that other drivers were arrested due to deliberate disobedience of traffic rules, and that traffic officers will work round the clock to ensure that every road user observed the stipulated rules.
He urged drivers to check their licenses regularly so as to avoid getting into trouble with the law, as ignorance is no defence.
He reminded drivers that it was against the law to drive with an expired license because in case of an accident, they would not be compensated.
He added that in case they knocked down a pedestrian, they would not get reimbursement from insurance firms for repairing their motor vehicles.