Lobby says road carnage due to skewed PSV inspection
By Oliver Musembi, February 2, 2024
Road Safety Association of Kenya yesterday blamed the rising road carnage on lack of inspection of Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) and heavy-load trucks.
Officials of the lobby led by the chairman David Kiarie said majority of PSVs on the road do not have inspection stickers, making it hard for police to enforce traffic rules.
The chairman maintained that out of 1.5 million vehicles eligible for inspection in the last one year, only 300,000 were inspected, claiming that some government corrupt officials were benefitting bribes received through the scam
Kiarie was addressing journalists after chairing a meeting of members of the association in Ruiru, Kiambu County to address the recent spate of road accidents which he said have claimed over 200 lives between December last year and January this year.
Last week, 11 people perished when a bus collided with a lorry transporting paddy rice in Kisumu County and left over 50 others critically injured.
The official said buses and trucks are the biggest culprits contributing to the road deaths as they do not undergo inspection, with many of them having faulty brakes and other mechanical failures.
“Sadly, we shall continue to witness these fatal accidents if these vehicles do not undergo inspection. The National Transport and Safety Authority is sleeping on the job,” said Kiarie.
He alleged there was a scandal in which owners of vehicles not inspected part with Sh6,000 each as bribes, which he said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate.
The official said efforts to reach Road and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to raise their concerns were fruitless.
“The CS should take the issue of road safety seriously if he values the lives of Kenyans. For how long should our people continue to die for him to take action?” Kiarie posed.
At the same time, the official said the Association is against a move to reduce the firms that fit speed governors in the country from the current 57 to only five, a thing he said is scandalous.
He also said they are opposed a proposal to have owners of PSVs fit their vehicles with speed cameras, saying this should be the responsibility of the government and not operators who are already overburdened with various levies.