Accidents: Focus on road user’s conduct
By Editorial.Team, March 22, 2024National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has been returned not only on the roads but also to the Ministry of Interior following the recent surge in road accidents.
The authority had in 2018 moved from Transport to the Interior Ministry and the government later directed that its officers be withdrawn from the roads. However, following a surge in fatal road accidents in October 2019, the then Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i rescinded the directive and the officers were returned to his docket.
But in January last year, the government again moved NTSA back to the Transport ministry.
All these changes and directives including nationwide crackdown whenever there is an increase in accidents portray the concerned authorities as reactive and not proactive.
We can never have enough officers on our roads to police every driver, rider and even pedestrian.
Even as adequate measures are put in place, there is also an urgent need for change of attitude and behaviuor of individual drivers, boda boda riders and even pedestrians on road safety.
Most boda boda riders are known for using the wrong direction, overtaking from the right, and even carrying excess passengers, especially in rural areas where there is fewer presence of officers.
Kenyans should obey traffic rules even when there are no law enforcement officers on sight.
Though the unfortunate case of the Kenyatta University bus crash that claimed 11 lives is still under investigation, preliminary investigations indicate the bus driver was overtaking a trailer at a time when it was raining and visibility was poor.
Accidents are attributed to a number of factors including driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, defective vehicles, obstruction, overtaking without clear view, and failure to comply with traffic signs. Other causes like carelessness, recklessness, fatigue, and driving long hours, for example, cannot be effectively dealt with by the law enforcement agencies. Road users need also to be sensitised on their safety.
Equally, enforcement should not be a fault finding exercise but target highest contributors to major accidents like overloading, speeding, and roadworthiness and not petty issues like the validity of driving licence.
The adoption of a collaborative regime between NTSA and police for a more efficient enforcement is a good idea but there should be greater focus on the behavior and attitude of the road users especially in situations that enforcement is not effective to deter.