Enhance road safety
The grisly road accident in Nyeri County that claimed 16 lives, including a woman and her daughter, is the latest reminder of the persistent carnage. This horror crash has plunged the region and the country into deep mourning.
When the woman boarded a matatu in Nyeri Town with her two-year-old daughter on Saturday evening, she had hoped to reach her home in Mweiga in Kieni Constituency safely. They never did, as they perished when their matatu and a lorry were involved in a head-on collision near Dedan Kimathi University on the Nyeri–Nyahururu highway. They and 13 other passengers died on the spot, and one while being treated in hospital.
National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Director-General Nashon Kondiwa says preliminary investigations show that reckless driving may have caused the accident. The agency is also looking into other factors, including speeding, reckless driving, and the roadworthiness of the vehicles involved. If established, these findings will confirm that this was a preventable tragedy.
The NTSA, which is investigating this incident in collaboration with the police, has pledged to increase patrols and monitor highways to enforce traffic rules and regulations. It has also vowed to step up the campaign to remove all the unroadworthy vehicles from the roads.
The National Police Service says the traffic police deployed countrywide will enforce compliance with the Highway Code to enhance safety, order, and efficiency on the roads.
The accident has sparked renewed concerns over road safety, with the government ordering a thorough investigation.
Reckless driving, speeding, and the failure to observe traffic rules and regulations are to blame for the rising number of deaths on the roads.
The authorities should continue enforcing traffic rules to restore order on the roads. They need to entrench a road safety culture to prevent crashes that result in serious injuries and deaths.
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