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Kenyan roads continue to claim lives through accidents. This is largely attributable to reckless driving, speeding, drink-driving, use of unroadworthy vehicles and police officers taking bribes on the highways.

Data released by the National Police Service (NPS) reveals that 3,369 people died from road crashes between January and September 16, 2024.

Of the total fatalities, 1,281 were pedestrians, 825 motorcyclists, 654 passengers, and 281 drivers.

Road accidents affected a total of 16,979 individuals in the first nine months of 2024.

These figures indicate a slight increase in road fatalities compared with the same period last year, when 3,151 people lost their lives on the highways.

It is regrettable that most of the accidents were preventable if Kenyans had adhered to traffic regulations and police officers stopped taking bribes in order to allow dangerous jalopies on roads.

Parents should be more alarmed that roads remain unsafe as children return to school after the November-December break.

That is why we support the call from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to all road users to be responsible for the safety of children as they return to school this week.

Further, the authority has urged parents, guardians, caregivers and the public to utilise the free NTSA mobile app, available on the Google Play Store, to verify essential details of public service vehicles, drivers and conductors before allowing children to board the vehicles.

All stakeholders must ensure that children board only compliant vehicles.

We emphasise that the safety of schoolchildren should be the responsibility of all right-thinking Kenyans.

These include private motorists, PSV operators, school managers and parents.

Motor vehicles used to transport children must have valid insurance, be roadworthy, and be fitted with functional speed limiters that transmit data to the NTSA Intelligent Road Safety Management System.

All should exercise high vigilance to ensure drivers of non-compliant vehicles and those driving recklessly are apprehended and punished according to the law.

Last year, Kenya witnessed horrendous accidents involving students travelling for holidays or on school trips in which young lives were lost.