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The car crash in which three schoolgirls died last Saturday brought home forcefully what Kenyans had almost forgotten, that horrific motor accidents caused by recklessness and speeding, have not gone anywhere.

On Saturday morning, a matatu ferrying students from Chogoria Girls High School in Tharaka Nithi County to Nairobi collided head-on with a truck carrying potatoes. The matatu driver, who also died, was trying to overtake another vehicle when the accident occurred.

Barely a week earlier, another crash on the Mombasa-Malindi road claimed six lives. Two matatus collided head-on, as one was attempting to overtake another vehicle.

It is that season again—the festive season—when drivers take leave of their senses and drive like they are possessed.

It is a particularly poignant season this year. After a subdued 2020 in which most people were laid low by an economy that had been upturned by Covid-19, and stringent restrictions on movement and gatherings, people have not been hampered by any such considerations this year.

The country has been opened up and the government has relaxed almost all Covid restrictions on the back of falling infections. As such, Kenyans are out in force. Hotels in the Coast and in the parks are fully booked.

Buses to the coastal and the western parts of Kenya from Nairobi are also fully booked, as is the SGR passenger rail service to the Coast.

Of even greater concern is that the Christmas week has this year coincided with the week of the closure of schools. Due to four terms being crammed into one year, instead of the usual three, term two will end this week.

So, as people start travelling to their destinations for the Christmas holidays, students will be getting onto public transport countrywide for their homes.

So, for a whole week, holiday makers and students will all be on the roads trying to get to their destinations probably as quickly as they can. It’s a rather scary scenario.

Further, this situation will be replicated the week after Christmas in the run-up to the new year as people dash back to where they live and work to prepare their children to return to school. Again, due to the year 2022 having four terms, the third term begins on the Monday after the New Year weekend. It’s going to be bedlam.

Throw into this mix the very potent and toxic portion of drunk driving, which is a pandemic in Kenya. It is one of the biggest causes of serious accidents. In the current mood, all caution will be thrown to the wind as

Kenya becomes one big party arena.

Who will save Kenyans from themselves?

If the last one week is anything to go by, the omens for the festive season in terms of road safety are not good.

The police must step up big time. They must be out in force throughout the festive season until students settle back in school in early January 2022.

Three key areas need a lot of attention.

First is sheer speeding. When Police are keen, they manage to keep drivers from speeding on the major highways. This season, this will be probably the most important road safety rule they can enforce.

Secondly is drunk driving. This will be especially critical at night starting from Christmas eve all the way to New Year’s Day. The Police need to bring alcoblow back on the roads, especially for the festive season.

Thirdly, indiscipline of Kenyan roads is a big problem. The roads will obviously be clogged, especially the highways. Impatience on Kenyan roads has been a cause of some of the most horrific of accidents.

The police will have a particularly difficult time to enforce traffic regulations due to the sheer volume of traffic. But they must save Kenyans from themselves.