Safety campaign starts to keep drivers safe on 1,700km Northern Corridor
Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) officials launch a road safety campaign for long-distance drivers using the Northern Corridor route in Mombasa.
A road safety campaign has been launched for long-distance drivers using the Northern Corridor route.
The Northern Corridor starts at the Port of Mombasa and is a key trade route with a length of 1,700 kilometres that serves Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC.
On Wednesday, the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) said human error accounts for 92 per cent of the accidents along the route, with mechanical problems accounting for five per cent, while environmental issues are to blame for three per cent of the crashes.
The authority’s Executive Secretary Omae Nyarandi said the seven-day campaign from Mombasa to Malaba will seek to sensitise different road users on the importance of road safety besides inspecting the state of roads in the corridor.
“We have identified a number of rest stations along the highway to ensure truck operators have facilities to rest after every eight hours along the various transit routes within the country. In partnership with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha), police and transporters, we shall work together to implement a number of measures to reduce road carnage,” said Mr Omae.
Speaking while flagging off a convoy in Mombasa to conduct the campaign along the corridor, the official warned truck drivers and owners against disregarding traffic rules including parking on the highway against traffic regulations.
“This campaign targets all road users including truck owners. We intend to significantly reduce the number of accidents not only in Kenya but also in other countries that is why we shall extend the campaign to other East African States,” said Omae.
To address the issue of roadside stations, he said the programme, which also seeks to identify safe places for cargo crew, has so far identified 141 roadside sites within East Africa Community member states.
Out of these stations, 67 are a priority and will be geo-fenced to ensure cargo loss is minimised while drivers get a proper place to rest after stipulated working hours.
NTSA coast region boss Eva Nyawira said since the beginning of this year, 1,055 cases of accidents have been reported between January to March 27 compared to 1,128 cases reported in the same period in 2022 representing a 6.5 percent decline.
“We are challenging the police to continue with the good work on the crackdown on traffic rules defaulters to bring accident cases further down and it is through this campaign that we hope to have few accident cases in the coming weeks,” said Ms Nyawira.
Mr Abdi Awale, one of the transporters who supports the campaign blamed the lack of parking along the corridor as one of the issues among others which are behind cases of accidents along the corridor.
“As truck owners, the majority of us have ensured trucks are in good condition but lack of rest stations and parking along the highway is really a challenge yet drivers are not allowed to divert to any route since cargo is monitored by the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS),” said Mr Abdi.
Kenha officer in charge of road safety Peter Wanyoike said accidents can only be reduced if there is behaviour change and taking care of highway infrastructure.
“Road assets need to be protected and this can be done by ensuring vehicles do not overload and different road signages, road barriers and street lights are protected. This cannot be achieved by deploying police or Kenha officers along the highway alone but it is a shared responsibility,” said Mr Wanyoike.
