Matatu industry stakeholders often speak of measures taken to curb accidents but just how effective are they?
In December 2017 alone, at least 330 people died in road accidents in Kenya while 3,500 deaths were reported that whole year.
World Bank Kenya adds that in Africa, "over
20 in 100,000 people die in road-traffic related deaths every year".
Despite stern warnings by the government and media coverage, passenger service vehicles are found overloaded, without safety belts and other such provisions and with crew who do not adhere to traffic rules.
The many grisly road accidents that occurred over the holidays forced president Uhuru Kenyatta to order the National Transport and Safety Authority off roads where they had been carrying
out surveillance.
He handed power to traffic police officers but they are known for corruption.
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As the blame game carries on, members of the public remain worried.
Who is to blame for the accidents? Is it the operators or the passengers and just what can be done so sanity is restored?
The wreckage of the bus that was involved in accident at Migaa area, Salgaa on Nakuru-Eldoret Highway, December 31, 2017. /Amos Kerich
On Thursday,
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai told the BBC that major accidents occur due to vehicle defectiveness.
Kimutai said: "Most crashes on our roads involve either overloaded or defective vehicles. Drivers could be competent but very careless."
He noted that
80 per cent of drivers who cause accidents are careless a phenomenon
he says must be looked into.
"There must be an institution that deals with this. We expect law enforcement officers to help us at certain points
and make sure these people do what they are expected to do."
Most accidents that were recorded from November to December 2017 had to do with with speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to the NTSA, most accidents are due to
speeding, reckless driving, dangerous overtaking and drink-driving.
NTSA director general Francis Mejja and road safety director Njeri Waithaka at the authority's offices on December 9, 2017. /Joseph Ndunda
In December, the government
announced a raft of measures targeting traffic police, driving schools and drivers. Drivers will undergo thorough vetting during which their ages and health will be checked ahed of their acquisition of digital licences.
Details:
Too much bribery
Noting enforcement of the law as a major issue, the chairman said officers shun extortion and instead ensure people do not lose their lives on the roads.
"Enforcement is the biggest
issue on road crashes today.
You don't have to necessarily have committed a crime or an offence but you will be flagged down and you have to pay some amount," he said.
Kimutai said in a distance of 160 km, a driver can part with more than Sh2,000.
Residents of Mbooni, Makueni County barricade Kikima –kalawani road demonstrating against increased number of accidents along the road. Eleven people died in an accident that occurred at Kwa Solo area. MUTUA KAMETI
"It is a culture put in place involving drivers of law enforcement. You part with roughly Sh100 or Sh200 and you will find 10 of them on the road."
Last year, Kimutai demanded an audit of the bank accounts of traffic police officers. The association claimed they were demanding bribes to enrich themselves while neglecting their mandate to ensure law and order on roads.
The chairman further said drivers are forced to pay even if they are law abiding citizens.
"You will pay and if you don't do this they will give you a charge that you will deny in court and it will discourage
you
from obeying the law. I
blame those who are supposed to enforce the law."
Way forward
Kimutai also recommended that matatu owners refuse to take bribes and shame the officers.
"Owners should be able to
protect
their businesses. They should say they will not give money if it is demanded and ensure they shame those involved in these acts."
Noting accidents also lead to loss in the matatu industry investment, Kimutai said the blame doesn't lie squarely on PVE operators.
"When we talk of crashes the owner looses an investment. Ours is to transport passengers from one
place to the other," he said.
"Our intentions are very clear - we enter
into contracts with passengers. Do you know what happens when there is a crash? I am sued. Let us not blame each other."
Kenya loses an average of 3,000 lives through road accidents annually, placing it among countries with the highest road carnage globally.
St.John Ambulance officials carry a survivor from an accident scene along Mombasa road ./Monicah Mwangi
As a result, the government, through various players, has tried to put mechanisms in place to reduce these incidents.
This started in 2014 with the introduction and publication of the Legal Notice No. 23 in the Kenya Gazette which outlines guidelines on management of public service vehicles.
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"Reducing mortality will boost economies"
In its January 2018 report titled 'The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable', World Bank notes that reducing road traffic mortality would boost national income.
Reducing road crash injuries along with deaths further strengthens countries’ economic growth gains.
"Our models show that reducing deaths from RTIs would have a notable positive effect on economic growth in the five countries analysed," the report states. The countries are China, India, Tanzania, Thailand and the Philippines.
"The size of the effect differs across countries but all would experience significant income gains. Larger road traffic injuries reductions lead to higher income benefits."
The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020, and the Sustainable Development Goals aim to stabilise and cut by half the predicted level of traffic fatalities in low and middle-income countries by 2020.
This means about five million lives will be saved and
50 million serious injuries avoided, resulting in the gain of more than US$3 trillion.
"Impacts on this scale will enhance country and regional development opportunities,"
World Bank notes, and advises the integration of
road safety in all phases of planning, design, and operation of road infrastructure.
"At the planning stage, before project approval, strategic comparative analysis of substantial changes and new construction need to be conducted to examine the network’s safety performance," the report says.
"In addition, risk mapping of road sections needs to be undertaken to help target investments to road sections with the highest crash concentrations and/or the highest crash reduction potential."
Black spots in Kenya include Salgaa in Nakuru, Salama along Mombasa Road, Sachangwan and
North Airport Road in Nairobi.
But the global financier notes the need to spend money in order for safety to be achieved, therefore the need for countries to find budgetary balances. Kenya has poor roads, the top complaints being that they are narrow, lack sidewalks and other special lanes and that they are poor constructed, such that they wear off after short time periods and end up filled with potholes.
Counties undertake many road construction projects but the issue of corruption often rears its ugly head and leaves residents suffering.
"The call to allocate additional funds or to reallocate existing funds to expanded road safety programmes will depend on a clear policy decision by governments to assign greater priority to these efforts."