Accidents: The week Kenyans would love to forget

Wreckage of bus that was involved in an accident at Kamara along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway. [Julius Chepkwony, Standard]

In the past several days Kenya has witnessed several road accidents and a plane crash, with most of them taking place in the Rift Valley.

On February 15, 2019 a bus collided with a truck along Nakuru-Eldoret Highway where nine people lost their lives.

 

The accident has caused traffic snarl-up along the Kericho-Nakuru Highway.

Three days earlier, eight people also died in a road accident at Chepsir along the Kericho-Nakuru Highway. The accident involved a 14-seater matatu and a lorry carrying gas cylinders.

Earlier in the week, five people died after a light aircraft they were travelling in crashed into a cypress tree on a private farm at Kamuingi Onein Londiani, Kipkelion East constituency.

The aircraft, which was being piloted by Kevin Mwanza Mutava, killed Carl Richard Sednaoui, who had both American and French citizenship, and his wife Melissa Witt and three other Americans.

Rescuers and bystanders gather near the wreckage of a Cessna 206 light aircraft that crashed with its Kenyan pilot and four foreign passengers at an agricultural farm in Londiani, Kericho county, on February 13, 2019. [Photo, Reuters]

The five passengers were travelling from Ol Kiombo in the Mara to Lodwar in Turkana County.

On February 9, two Kenya Airways planes collided while undergoing maintenance, fortunately no injuries were reported.

The incident occurred during a technical engine maintenance check at the hangar

These accidents comes just few days after the government announced that they are seeking to institutionalize better road safety measure to reduce traffic death by 50 per cent.

According to NTSA, a total of 184 people have lost their lives on the road since the year began.

This is less by 28 compared to 212 people who died over the same period in 2018 according to the survey results released on January 27, 2019.

A total of 335 people were killed in accidents in December last year, compared to 356 who died by the same date in 2017.

Pedestrians remains the most vulnerable road users with 72 of them having been killed. 

To address accident menace, the government has embarked on campaigns targeting pedestrians, drivers and motor cyclist and boda-boda riders.

Among those strategies is the re-introduction of the famous Michuki rule last month.

The state has also introduced day time alcohol blow which has seen hundreds of drivers arrested for drunk driving.?