This December, as has been the tradition, Kenyans are preparing to celebrate the Christmas festivities, and part of that preparation entails travelling. Given the spectre of accidents in the past few days that have claimed tens of lives, especially along the Nakuru–Eldoret Highway, the Christmas spirit has been dampened. Indeed, a bigger percentage of Kenyans are fearful of travelling, and for good reason.
A few weeks ago, a couple travelling back home after a University graduation ceremony in Nairobi lost their lives in an accident along the Nakuru-Eldoret Road that also took many other lives. A family in Vihiga County is mourning the loss of nine members in an accident at Kamukuywa in Western Kenya. Only days ago, six musicians perished in an accident along the Nakuru-Eldoret Road. Then came the multiple vehicle accident that claimed over 30 lives on Tuesday this week on the same road.
Why are our roads becoming human abattoirs at this point in time when great resources have been expended over the years in efforts to make sure road travel is safe? The establishment of the National Transport and Road Safety Authority (NTSA) in 2012 is one such endeavour that has, sadly, been unable to live up to its billing. NTSA is big disappointment to the Kenyan taxpayers.
NTSA appears to have its priorities wrong. While it is not in dispute that drunk drivers are a danger to road users, they are not the major cause of accidents as NTSA would want Kenyans to believe. The transport authority cannot continually point fingers at human error as a cause of accidents without initiating corrective measures and enforcing traffic rules. NTSA’s ability to restore sanity to our roads is so eroded that the Motorist Association of Kenya is demanding a restoration of the traffic administration function to the traffic police department.
The lethargy observable in institutions that should champion road safety can no longer be tolerated. The traffic police department, NTSA and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KenHA), with the input of county governments where necessary, must put their heads together and come up with permanent solutions to this menace. The statistics posted from time to time should be converted into action plans that will guarantee safety on our roads. KenHA, particularly, needs to look at road designs at black spots across the country.
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