Ministry faces uphill task in changing drivers’ habits

Police blamed this accident that happened at Mutindwa, Nairobi last month on reckless driving. [PHOTO: STANDARD/STANDARD]

By Standard Reporter

Kenya: An accident involving a matatu and an expectant woman on a busy Nairobi road some years back left the public in shock and dismay.

The impatient matatu driver who was stuck in traffic along Argwings Kodhek Road decided he was tired of the mess and opted to drive on the sidewalk sending terrified pedestrians scampering for safety.

What he had not anticipated was a pregnant woman walking on the sidewalk. He hooted at her. The frightened woman turned to find the behemoth right next to her. What happened next traumatised everyone.

The vehicle’s side mirror struck the woman’s belly ripping it open. It was a scene out of a horror movie that left even the passengers in the matatu petrified. There are enough narratives about matatus to write a horror story. The biggest challenge the National Transportation and Safety Authority and a myriad of transport players will face as they seek to transform the sector is changing the outrageous and tragic driving habits of drivers that contribute to road accidents. Speeding is the biggest contributor to accidents on the road.

Other habits include reckless driving, failure to observe basic traffic laws or total disregard of traffic rules or other motorists. The number of road accidents and those who continue to die demonstrates there is little value for human life on our roads.

On a continental scale, Kenyans can pat themselves on the back in contrast to driving habits in Nigeria and Egypt, which are horrendous. The death toll on the road on average per year is 12,000 in Egypt. Nigeria has the second highest road traffic accident fatalities of the 193 countries in the world, according to Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu. It records an astounding 162 deaths per 100,000 in a nation with a population of 168m.

Road accidents costs Kenya about $1.6 billion a year and about 13 deaths are reported daily while 20,000 are injured annually.

But the desire to change driving habits in Kenya should come from individuals and not just the Government.  Motorist activists are stepping forward, angered by the growing slaughter on the road.

Take Susan Kariuki for instance. The former restaurateur caught the road safety bug after she was involved in an accident on Moi Avenue in 1998.

She recalls: “The same year my friend lost her two children on Waiyaki Way. My daughter was involved in an accident in Lavington in 2009.”

So she spent time on the road lecturing errant drivers and yelling at them to drive safely but it was not enough. She says: “So many accidents happened between 2010 and 2011. I asked myself, isn’t there somebody concerned about what is happening on our roads?”

She decided to set up a road safety centre. “The Leadership Centre Road Safety Programme is designed to empower drivers to increase safety on roads,” she reveals.

Restore sanity

Last July, the centre started a Safe and Smart Driving course. “We invite companies that employ drivers to send participants. They include car manufacturers, dealers, corporate firms, taxi drivers and schools.”

Susan believes that road safety starts from home. “The way we were brought up affects the way we behave on our roads. If we saw our parents or guardians driving badly, we follow suit. That is why training drivers in etiquette and emotional intelligence is critical for them to understand how to treat others on the road.”

Matatu Owners Association Chairman Simon Kimutai acknowledges the challenge will be huge, but they are determined to restore sanity on the road and he wants matatus to be the leading players in a new dispensation.