Road accidents continue to needlessly claim life and limb. A report by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) shows that 1,983 people died in road accidents between January and September 2015. There were 332 fatalities as of April 3 this year, six more than last year at the same time.
Several factors account for road accidents, among them driver apathy, pedestrian negligence, vandalism of guard rails and road signs, illegal speed bumps, unmarked road works and to some extent, sign posts that obstruct the drivers view of the road ahead. Often, hawkers jump onto the road whenever a vehicle slows down to sell their wares; unaware of the danger they expose themselves to. Road signs have been brought down to be sold as scrap metal. In other places, the lanes have not been marked making driving at night and in bad weather a perilous undertaking.
Yet the biggest worry now is the seemingly haphazard erection of bumps on major roads including those marked as Class A104, which according to the Kenya Highways Authority, have "prominent international or port-connecting function". These bumps not only cause traffic delays as is happening at Uplands-Kimende along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, but are a safety risk to motorists and pedestrians. And it is not just here. KeNHA has watched helplessly as private citizens erect illegal structures on the roads especially near shopping centres where pedestrians who wander into the road are hit and killed.
What is more, there are no signs warning motorists about these bumps which are not standardised. Some of them are huge mounds of boulders placed across an expensive road. At times, surprised motorists veer off the road causing fatalities and injury to passers-by.
Whereas we appreciate that one life lost on the road is one too many, efforts to minimise road deaths must enhance safety for all road users. So what is KeNHA 's role in promoting safety on the highways when it cannot stop the erection of illegal structures or get the culprits apprehended for breaking the law?
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