A 9 per cent drop in road deaths in the period January 2017 to July 2017 compared to the same period last year may look good statistically, but many Kenyans continue to die on our roads through accidents that can be prevented.
Between January and July 2016, 1,705 people died in road accidents. For the same period this year, 1,547 have died as a result of road accidents. Presumably, a lot less got injured.
That number is still too high by any standards, and this calls for more effort not just from the National Transport and Road Safety Authority (NTSA), but from motorists and pedestrians alike in reducing fatalities on our roads.
The causes of accidents remain the same; poor roads, unroadworthy vehicles, pedestrian inattention, missing road signage, unqualified drivers, drink-driving, the tendency not to observe road rules and corruption involving motorists and traffic police officers.
Some of the officers from NTSA have been sucked into the corruption vortex, and while they look the other way after their palms have been greased, accidents happen.
Tackling and eliminating causes of road accidents requires nothing more than dedication to duty and fidelity to the law. An officer who allows an unroadworthy vehicle to proceed on a journey is directly responsible for any accident such a vehicle may cause at a later time. That demonstrates that reducing road carnage is possible.