Heed advice on Salgaa stretch

With around 3,000 casualties every year, Kenya has one of the highest road accident deaths in the world. By Monday, only four days into the New Year, 32 people had perished in road crashes, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority.

Predictably, some of the lives were lost in known black spots such Salgaa in Nakuru County. Among those killed at Salgaa this year were five teenagers who died on January 1. A man and his wife also died on the stretch on Sunday.

Although the leading causes of death on our roads, including reckless and driving while drunk are well known, the number of crashes at Salgaa raises eyebrows. There are many other such black spots across the country.

Nacada Chairman John Mututho blames poor road design for the high incidence of accidents at Salgaa. He says Nacada has on several occassions complained about this to NTSA and KeNHA but no action has been taken.

While we doubt Mr Mututho has any expertise in road building, we demand that his concerns be taken seriously. And if in deed there are flaws in the design of the road, the Government should do the needful to avert more loss of lives.