Call to hasten road crash cases as 4,103 people die by November 17

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has called on the police, Judiciary and insurance companies to expedite road crash cases so as to ensure justice for victims of accidents.

NTSA Eastern Regional Manager Doris Sibaya said the wheels of justice in road-crash cases are sometimes too slow despite the devastation, loss and suffering of families of the dead and injured.

Vulnerable road users such as schoolchildren, bodaboda riders and pedestrians pay the highest price, she said.

As of November 17, she added, Kenya had recorded 18,474 road traffic crash victims, of whom 4,103 were fatal, 8,371 had serious injuries and 6,000 had minor injuries.

Some 1,486 pedestrians, 1,085 bodaboda riders, 721 passengers, 378 drivers, 377 pillion passengers and 56 cyclists had died as a result of road crashes by November 17.

These numbers could increase if road users don’t adopt safe behaviours, she warned.

Ms Sabaya spoke on Tuesday at the University of Embu.

She urged university staff and students to adhere to basic road safety practices and adopt safe road user behaviours.

She added that road crashes are preventable if all road users play their roles effectively and responsibly.

“It is regrettable that these road traffic crash cases will keep on rising if safe road user practices are not adopted,” she said.

The NTSA, she said, is finalising the development of the National Road Safety Action Plan (NRSAP) to enhance coordination, management and implementation of road safety programmes for reducing crashes.

Besides the NTSA’s ‘Usalama Barabarani’ campaigns and road safety education programmes, it is also developing a road safety curriculum for schoolchildren in collaboration with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

She also said the agency is conducting road safety audits in collaboration with road agencies to inform safe road designs and construction.

At the county levels, she added, the NTSA is activating county transport and safety committees to improve road safety.

University of Embu Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Kiplagat Kotut urged students and staff to always be cautious on the road and offer a helping hand when they encounter a road crash victim.

Anthony Muchiri, a first-year student at the university who lost his leg in the aftermath of a road accident, urged his fellow students not to be ignorant of traffic rules and always exercise caution on the road.

And Mr Clinton Ogola, president of the University of Embu Students Association, said the school had lost three students in road accidents as a result of careless driving of miraa vehicles.

He urged the Embu government to set up foot paths on the Meru-Embu-Nairobi highway.