The Dream of Bringing Sanity to Kenyan Roads

On Monday, the National Transport and Safety Authority vowed to bring sanity to Kenyan roads as a wave of fatal road accidents takes over the country.

This is not the first time for the authority to issue such a stern warning that is usually tougher than the action itself and now our roads are in shambles.

The Kenyan roads are now dominated with insane drivers, some of whom have never stepped into a driving class but only hear of it and who call themselves “professional pilots with vast experience in cars.”

Road accidents in Kenya continue to claim hundreds of innocent lives as the authority whose power is to streamline the transport sector is turned into an outlet that only releases figures of how many have died as it majors in issuing tough empty threats with minimum action being taken.

Read: Over-speeding Causing Most Road Accidents in Kenya

Many accidents have been caused by drunk drivers as well as cars spoiled beyond repair and drivers who appear like they only depend on weed for reasoning. The main cause of accidents on Kenyan roads, however, is corruption. The traffic police officers deployed on the Kenyan roads to ensure there is sanity are more of tax collectors than of police officers. What they care much about is money, not the condition of the vehicle or the status of the one driving it but the money. You might even have a vehicle with only one wheel, but with a hundred shillings earn your free passage on a police roadblock.

Read: Accident Blackspots on Kenyan Roads Named by NTSA

The NTSA has failed to streamline the transport sector in Kenya. The best remedy is to disband it. The traffic police force is already a disaster and the cure for it is actually unknown. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure appears not to be aware of his full mandate and responsibilities. Why haven’t the CS spoken or does he only deal with the SGR and the air travel?

The economy of this country is always driven miles back due to numerous road accidents. Drastic measures need to be taken right now.