State adopts anti-speeding gadgets to tame accidents
By Mercy.Mwai and People.Reporter, April 4, 2023
The government will soon deploy monitoring devices to detect speed of vehicles on highways in a race to reduce road crashes.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen yesterday directed the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to install traffic and speed cameras along the highways following increased road crashes.
The CS also directed the authority to immediately operationalise a transport data centre and road transport dashboard.
In a raft of measures aimed at dealing with road carnage, Murkomen regretted that many lives were still being lost every day due to careless driving.
“The government seeks to improve transport management to achieve enhanced safety on roads. Thousands of lives are still being lost every day, with most of the crashes being attributed to careless driving behaviours. Practical and evidence-based interventions must be put in place if we are to reverse this unfortunate trend,” he said.
He added: “I instruct the NTSA Board to support NTSA management to deliver on the following directives: installation of traffic and speed cameras along the highways.”
Murkomen also directed the roads agency to increase registration and licensing of private motor vehicle inspection centres in the country.
He further told NTSA to work jointly with Kenya Rural Urban Roads (Kura) to support Implementation of the Intelligent Traffic System (ITS), which entails the installation of ITS infrastructure in 81 junctions in Nairobi as well as the construction of traffic management center (TMC) to monitor the system.
The ITS system involves sensor-controlled traffic lights, cameras, redesigned intersections and bus stops as it enabled road users to make informed decisions; improved safety, mobility, reduced travel time, reduced emissions and increasing the efficiency of the existing transport infrastructure
Adjacent roads
The system is currently installed along the Nairobi Western Ring Roads (NWRR), Ngong road Phase 1 & 2 and Nairobi Eastern missing links and adjacent roads
And to deal with post crash care, Murkomen directed NTSA to develop an accident reporting platform for citizens to notify the relevant emergency and medical services in the event of an accident as well as coordinate the development of an accident and Emergency mutual aid system jointly with medical practitioners and Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to ensure accident victims get the appropriate professional care such as ambulance services. The new measures come at a time when the number of road accidents in the country have been on the rise with the recent case being in Kayole along the Naivasha-Nakuru Highway involving a Pwani university bus which hit
a matatu leaving 16 people dead.
To deal with the boda boda menace, the CS called for the implementation of boda boda action plan that includes registration and licensing of the operators as well as training and capacity enhancement of boda boda operators.
The move comes just days after Banissa MP Kulow Maalim Hassan killed by a rider on March 25 near The Al-Huda Mosque, in South B.
And to further deal with careless driving, Murkomen told NTSA to implement the Traffic (Driving Schools, Driving Instructors, and Driving Licenses) Rules.
This he said, include finalisation of the development and implementation of driving schools’ management and licensing modules replacements of Smart driving licenses, which should be undertaken through Public Private Partnerships in order to increase enrolment centres.