Heightened surveillance to crack down on unroadworthy vehicles and close collaboration between the ministries of Transport and Interior are among a raft of measures announced by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to prevent any loss of lives on the roads during Easter.
To ensure compliance with road safety standards, Mr Murkomen has also instructed the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) to implement immediate measures to deal with reckless driving and road crashes during the long Easter weekend where many Kenyans will be traveling to different parts of the country.
Drivers have also been cautioned against using their mobile phones while driving, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving without a seatbelt or carrying passengers who are not wearing seatbelts.
“I wish to urge pedestrians to observe traffic rules by stopping at green lights and not crossing roads in non-designated and unsafe areas,” the CS said.
He was speaking during the inauguration of the new board at NTSA. Mr Murkomen voiced the need to curb road accidents, which have killed 1,072 people since January. Whereas this number is lower than the 1,159 recorded over the same period last year, the CS said the numbers painted a bleak picture of the state of road safety in Kenya.
Of the 1,072 deaths, 362 are pedestrians, 302 motorcyclists, 184 passengers, 101 pillion passengers, 104 are drivers while 19 are pedal cyclists.
Nairobi City County had the highest fatality cases at 101, with most of the deaths occurring along the Eastern Bypass and Outering Road . Nakuru was second with 93 cases.
Machakos County had the highest number of driver fatalities with many of the accidents occurring along Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
Nakuru and Meru Counties had the highest number of motorcyclist and pillion passenger fatalities (33 and 30 respectively) while Nairobi and Kiambu had the highest number of pedestrian fatalities at 56 and 45 respectively.
Motor vehicles, 284 and private vehicles, 272, contributed to the highest number of deaths between January and March.
Sunday and Saturday topped in the number of road accident deaths at 192 and 184 respectively with Friday, Saturday and Sunday accounting for 48.4 per cent of fatal accidents.
Soon, only those certified as competent and qualified drivers will be allowed on the roads, Mr Murkomen said, adding that the ministry was in the final stages of developing a new curriculum for driving schools.
Further, he said,with the completion of the Integrated Traffic Management System soon, at least 81 junctions in Nairobi will have CCTV cameras. The government will also install speed cameras along major highways, particularly at designated black spots. A transport data centre and road transport dashboard will also be launched.
Transport Permanent Secretary Mohamed Dagar said the ministry will register and train all boda boda operators on road safety and traffic rules.
Mr Dagar said plans are underway to develop an accident reporting platform for citizens to notify authorities in cases of accidents. It will work with medical practitioners and the Insurance Regulatory Authority to ensure accident victims get professional care.
“The ministry will oversee the roll-out of smart driving licenses in collaboration with the private sector to fast-track the process and make it as seamless as possible,” said Mr Dagar.
