Illegal bumps and lawlessness have turned roads into death traps

Motorists and pedestrians across Kenya are faced with a poor driving culture, badly designed and neglected roads every single day.

They are confronted with illegal speed bumps, roadside businesses, vandalism of guardrails and matatu lawlessness.

In some cases, contractors have excavated sections of the road which, without signs or barricades, are death traps for motorists.

Margaret Anyango, a fruits vendor, is among scores of hawkers oblivious to danger at Ndori market, a busy intersection for vehicles from Kogello, Kisumu and Bondo.

Some speed bumps erected at uncontrolled shopping centres along highways are designed to slow down vehicles to facilitate these roadside businesses. Authorities have warned those who erect such bumps that they risk a one-year jail term.

"We are putting our own lives in danger in the event a vehicle's brakes fails and the car plunges into a building very close to the road," Ali Mwambire, a resident of Bombolulu in Nyali constituency said of mushrooming roadside businesses.

Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) acting Director General Charles Obuon said the Kenya Roads Act, 2007, prohibits any unauthorised construction on roads or highways, and anybody who contravenes the law is liable for punishment.

"Section 49 (1) of the Act states that no person may erect, construct or lay or establish a structure or any other thing on or over the surface of a road reserve. Anyone who contravenes this requirement is liable to an imprisonment term of one year or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand or to both," he explained.

Vandals have also descended on newly constructed roads to dismantle guardrails and signposts.

"We stopped using metal for our sign posts to deter vandalism, but now the composite road signs made of plastic are being vandalised and left on the side of the road," explained Kenya Rural Roads Authority Mt Kenya Region Manager James Kabiru.

A section of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, at Bonje between Mazeras and Miritini, had a large portion where guard rails made of aluminium fittings were vandalised.

Similarly, along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway and the Nakuru-Kabarnet road, vandals have stolen roadside barriers, guardrails, steel grid and steel reinforcements, exposing road users to security threats.

The behaviour by matatu crew to pick and drop passengers outside designated bus stops is another problem.

Nairobi Traffic Commandant Leonard Katana warned public service vehicle operators against using footpaths to pick passengers.

Along Thika Road, matatus shun designated bus stops to block service lanes and roundabouts, especially at Githurai, endangering other motorists and pedestrians.

Residents of Kakamega County have protested accidents due to illegal bumps and abandoned road works.

In Kakamega, the contractor on the Mukumu-Shirere stretch has not been very keen on watering the dusty diversion, impairing the vision of drivers on dry days.

At the Mogotio-Eldama Ravine junction, several signposts erected by the State and private institutions block motorists and almost cause accidents on a daily basis.