In March, a friend of mine called me to raise concern about the frequency of road accidents involving school buses. And I thought the patterns must mean something and need to be evaluated and action taken.
In risk management there is what is referred to as risk indicators — these accidents are clear indicators that there are fundamental problems that need to be addressed in school transport. We need to undertake proactive risk management.
Since the beginning of the year, several accidents involving school buses ferrying children have been reported. On February 24, a Maadili school bus overturned on the Gitungi-Murang’a road killing three pupils and injuring others.
A Kapsabet Boys High School bus overturned on the Kabarnet-Marigat road on March 6 and as per published reports, two people died and several were injured. Nine days later, a Kenyatta University bus was involved in a collision with a trailer in Taita-Taveta in which 11 students died and forty-two were injured. On August 5, a Rockside Academy bus collided with a truck on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway, leaving 26 students injured.
These are not all the accidents that have taken place, but we need to ask ourselves what is being done to deal with this road carnage?
There are various black spots identified throughout the country’s road network. These black spots have been known for years and yet we often do not seem to do something about them. The relevant government authorities should ensure that the structural flaws of these black spots are eliminated to avert further loss of life that also impacts directly on families.
The safety of school buses is another issue. The safety belts should be designed specifically for use by children. The bus structures are made of metal pipes and sheets that are welded together and painted.
The flip side of this is that when the bus is involved in an accident, these metal sheets are the ones that cause most harm to the victims. We must seek alternative ways of ensuring that school buses are structurally sound.
