Stop! My local speed governors are tamper proof, trader now claims

By JOB WERU

Three weeks ago, the government, through the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) published regulations, which if implemented could see Kenyans enjoy safer rides in public service vehicles (PSVs).

The regulations require PSVs and commercial vehicles to be fitted with tamper proof digital speed governors that also have recording devices.

The regulations will come into force on February 28.

Most of these gadgets come from China and the country is expected to see an increase in their shipment as the deadline nears.

There is, however, one person who will be giving the Chinese a run for their money.

Mr Wambugu Nyamu, an entrepreneur from Nyeri, has invented a speed governor, which has already undergone testing and approval by the Chief Mechanical Engineer, the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Road Safety Authority among others.

His company, Ekas Technologies, is licensed as one of the manufacturers and fitters of speed governors.

According to Nyamu, the idea of developing a digital speed governor emerged in 2003, after the government ordered all PSV vehicles be fitted with them.

Human error

“Most speed governors on Kenyan roads were imported from China as no Kenyan had started manufacturing them,” he says.

“But operators of PSVs and commercial trucks found ways of tampering with them and this is  when I came up with the idea of a tamper-proof speed governor,” he said.

The invention comprises a speed governor, which is connected to a speed recorder.

He says the gadgets will be instrumental in curbing rising cases of fatal accidents that have bedeviled the country. Authorities say that speeding is a major cause of road crashes.

“The speed governors introduced in 2003 were a blessing to road users, but the blessing was short-lived since drivers devised a way of tampering with them. We thank the government for ordering that all passenger service vehicles and trucks be fitted with tamper proof gadgets,” said Nyamu.

The data recorded in his gadget is retrievable by motor vehicle inspectors.

“The speed governors shall incorporate a mechanism for recording the speed of the vehicle and this data shall be retrievable.

The order was a godsend to Nyamu whose invention was being avoided by most operators.

“The recordings can be retrieved and printed in case proof is required,” he said.

The speed governor is configured in a software that is only managed by the manufacturer and his agents, making it hard for anybody to tamper with its prior recordings.

“The gadget records the speed the vehicle is moving at and recording starts as soon as the vehicle is switched on. If any user attempts to tamper with it, the vehicle switches off automatically.

If they by-pass power, it overheats and switches itself off automatically and they will need to come to us so that we can restart it,” said Nyamu.

The traffic police officers manning roads will need to have a laptop so that they can access the speed records.

“This means police will stop using jacks to lift vehicles so that they can detect whether a vehicle is fitted with a speed governor or not. We ensure that when fitting the gadget, we leave a USB adapter exposed on the dashboard for easy accessiblity.

Nyamu says the gadget is a hybrid of both British and Chinese models.

“So far, we are producing between 15 and 20 speed governors a day and we believe we have capacity to double or even triple the production,” he said.

USB adaptor

Nyamu believes his gadget will also help in diagnosis and investigations in case of an accident.

“We are aware that most accidents are caused by human error and this is the problem we intend to address through introduction of the gadgets, which will tame rogue drivers,” he adds.

Ekas Technologies has branches and agents in Nyeri, Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa and other major towns. It is among ten other licensed speed governor manufacturers and fitters.