each year in road accidents.
In Kenya the statistics are grim with about 3,000 people dying annually and thousands others getting injured in road accidents. This is one of the highest road fatalities in the world. It is estimated that road accidents cost the country between 1 to 3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product.
Road carnage in Kenya has claimed so many lives, we are always quick to say that, “it was a mechanical failure” or “there is nothing the driver could have done”. The truth is, every bloodshed, life lost and even dream shattered on the road is no accident, when all the different odds are presented on the table, someone is to blame. On 12th February 2011 I survived a grisly road accident involving a university bus and a fourteen passengers capacity public service vehicle (PSV) which claimed six lives on the spot; since then I have seen road accidents for what they really are, most of them result from negligent behavior in the part of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and even traffic police officers. Yesterday when I saw four children had perished in Nyahururu it broke my heart because I believe the accident could have been avoided.
Accidents are often blamed on the poor conditions of the Kenyan roads; the potholes, the weathered roads, the narrow roads, the poorly maintained roads, the faded zebra crossing and even the non functioning traffic lights. The bad roads have at one point in time contributed to road carnage but the entire blame cannot be placed on them. Almost all roads in Kenya are currently being repaired and this has not stopped accidents from occurring. An example is the construction of the Thika road superhighway where many people lost their lives during its construction. Most of these accidents have been as a result of speeding or motorists and pedestrians’ lack of knowledge of how to use the road.
Day in day out, PSVs have been involved in road accidents. This could be attributed to the greed of making more money which drives the touts and drivers into overloading, it is also this greed which makes drivers speed, overtake recklessly and ignore other traffic rules. They want to make extra money by making more trips and carrying more passengers who are actually willing at times. Most drivers are paid according to the number of trips they make and they therefore make the extra trips to earn more money for themselves.
Reckless driving is also evident among bus, truck and lorry drivers. We could relate to a recent occurrence where a speeding lorry ploughed into pupils from Mungeti Primary School in Bungoma County, the children were coming from a sports day at Kimukungi Primary. Even after killing six pupils on the spot and seriously injuring more than twenty students he went on only to be stopped a few kilometers from the scene by a traffic policeman. It is also worth recalling a grisly accident that claimed twenty three lives in Ukambani in 2011 as they were coming from a dowry negotiation ceremony. Among the many causes of this accident was speeding and overloading.
Corrupt traffic policemen should also be blamed for the road carnage; they stand in roadblocks and extort money from the drivers. They do not take time to check whether the vehicles are in good condition or even if they are overloaded, this has encourages many drivers not to service their vehicles putting passengers at risk. Policemen also place roadblocks at black spots which also contribute towards the road carnage. An example is the accident which occurred in early February 2012 along Kakamega- Kisumu road where the police had placed a road block in a sloppy area which is known to be a black spot. A lorry coming down hill had breaks failure and it smashed a vehicle that had stopped at the road block claiming twenty six lives.
Other issues like, ignoring traffic rules which also include traffic lights and zebra crossings have also caused road accidents. Jumping lanes and repairing vehicles in the middle of the road without placing reflectors can also be blamed. Drunk and reckless driving cannot be left out as key contributors of road accidents.
It is very unfortunate that school and university buses have been involved in road accidents. According to the former Traffic Commandant Joseph Ole Tito, most school drivers break rules persistently expecting to receive special treatment from the police; the main offenses include speeding, overloading and poor maintenance of vehicles. Most drivers working for schools are old and have almost always caused fatal accidents involving a PSV earlier in their lives. School bus drivers are not the only ones to blame, most school administrators purchase substandard spare parts so as to reduce on spending. The buses are rarely serviced and they are never inspected as is expected of all public service vehicles.
Citizens should know exactly where to point their fingers whenever there is an accident; it is the anger and pain they feel that at times drive them into attacking the drivers involved. There are no clear laws that can be used to incriminate the people who cause bloodshed on our roads, no action is taken towards most of them and they keep on getting involved in road accidents. Clear laws relating to road carnage will help stop the menace.
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