Firms rush to cash in on speed governors

Archborn Bush, Brand Developer, Orient Scientific Limited during the interview [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The race by drivers to beat the August 5 deadline when they are expected to fit their vehicles with new speed governors has attracted tech firms eager to cash on the expected demand.

Among the firms that have positioned themselves to gain from the anticipated business is a startup that has won a recommendation from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

The firm – Orient Scientific Limited – has won a licence from NTSA to be a developer and distributor of the third generation speed governors.

According to Orient’s head of business development Archborn Bush (pictured), the company has finalised the creation of a prototype of a third generation speed governor.

“The demand from NTSA was huge. There were fears from the agency that cheap Chinese imports would flood the market and the whole idea behind implementation of tight regulations to control over-speeding especially by Public Service Vehicle (PSVs) would be defeated,” Mr Bush said.

According to Bush, the new speed governor has been developed in such away it will be impossible for drivers to tamper with it. Firms that applied for a licence to build the speed limiters had to undergo through scrutiny to comply with strict standards set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs)

According to Bush, Kebs had come up with the standards after working with NTSA. “Both State agencies have been watching as we develop the prototype since September last year to ensure that we get the standards right,” Bush said.

All vehicles that will be fitted with the speed governor will be directly connected to a centre station at NTSA for monitoring.

“We are partnering with NTSA by training their staff on how to monitor speeding vehicles using the new speed governors,” Bush said.

“If a vehicle tries to tamper with the governor and speeds, the tampering will be immediately recorded at NTSA and the driver apprehended.” Orient is also involved in fleet and fuel management.