Road accidents have become a common occurrence and usually peak during the festive season, causing loss of lives and injuries.
Nearly everyone has been touched because we have lost parents, brothers, sisters and friends. Getting involved in an accident is painful, but it is even more excruciating when it happens during festivities when people are travelling to various parts of the country to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.
That is why we welcome the initiative by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to deploy officers to locations along major highways to ensure travel rules are adhered to. The move is welcome and will help bring sanity to our roads.
The authority has reportedly deployed 18 teams across the country to help enforce traffic rules. This is good news, but cannot in any way substitute common sense on our roads because the ultimate responsibility for every individual's safety lies with them.
This is why all road users must observe traffic rules and desist from the temptation to break the law, especially when not within the radar of NTSA officers or the police.
The same spirit should guide forays into nightclubs and places where people will be gathering to celebrate. Driving while drunk is a fatal combination that should be avoided at all costs. Don't speed and don't get behind the steering wheel when you are fatigued.
Remember there is always the option of taking a taxi or getting a sober driver to take you to your destination and while at it, always remember to fasten your seat belt because it maybe what determines whether you stay alive or not in case of an accident.
We are not saying observing these simple rules will completely eradicate accidents on our roads, no. Even in the days of horses and horse-drawn vehicles, there was risk of injury or death due to road accidents.
In fact accidents happened whenever horses bolted, or whenever horse-drawn vehicles were driven recklessly. Alcohol has been freely available since time immemorial, so drunken drivers were a hazard in the past, as they are now.
Statistics collected since the year began, up to December 7, show 11,120 people had been involved in accidents. Out of these, 2,702 died. Majority of those who succumbed to road accidents were pedestrians.
Statistics indicate that road accidents are the third leading causes of death after malaria and HIV/Aids in Kenya and mainly affect the economically productive.
There is need to enact measures geared at reducing mortality, morbidity, disability and increased cost of healthcare resulting from such accidents.
Public awareness of hazards, intensive policing, road improvements and roadworthy vehicles if combined well could help reduce the road toll.
There are things we can do on our own to reduce accidents without waiting for intervention from the NTSA or traffic police.
Kenyans showed a superb spirit of community policing in 2003 after the enactment and enforcement of stringent traffic rules by the then minister of Transport the late John Michuki. The laws, mainly targeting passenger vehicles set out tough rules, which were supported by the public.
Passenger capacity for matatu was reduced to 13, speed limit set to 80kph and speed governors introduced. Safety belts for all passengers was made mandatory as well as the vetting of drivers and conductors, who had to meet stricter guidelines.
The laws combined with the prevailing spirit at the time led to a reduction in the number of road accidents. We need the same spirit, not just during this festive period but in future too to reduce road accidents.
