NTSA has warned motorists to disregard text messages about speed violations sent from numbers other than its official SMS ID, amid concerns about possible exploitation of the system.

The authority said it issues speed violation notifications only through the sender identity NTSA, and asked recipients of suspicious messages not to respond and to report them promptly.

“Speed violation notifications are issued solely via SMS ID: NTSA. Motorists are advised not to respond to and to promptly report any suspicious messages from numbers purporting to belong to NTSA,” the authority said in its notice.

The warning accompanies the launch of real-time speed monitoring under the Msimu bila ajali, Usalama Barabarani campaign, which NTSA announced on Tuesday, October 27, through its official account on X. The campaign is being run with law enforcement agencies and combines driver and passenger sensitisation with day and night safety checks on major transport corridors.

Real-time monitoring allows authorities to detect speeding as it happens, unlike systems that review speed data after a journey. NTSA has not said where the monitoring is active, when enforcement began, or what penalties apply to violations picked up this way.

The campaign also involves checks on speed limiters, verifying that each device works and transmits data continuously to the Intelligent Road Safety Management System (IRSMS). Motorists who have not yet linked their vehicles to a licensed speed limiter vendor are required to log into their accounts through the upgraded IRSMS portal and do so.

The checks are weighted towards night hours, which NTSA describes as among the deadliest on Kenyan roads.

NTSA’s speed limiter and SMS warning place new compliance and fraud-reporting duties on motorists: checking that their limiter is linked and functioning, and treating unexpected penalty texts as a risk to be verified rather than a bill to be paid.

The authority has not said how many fraudulent messages have been received or whether the warning follows specific incidents.