Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has called on the National Transport Safety Authority to enhance training and supervision for motorbike riders as part of efforts to reduce road carnage.
Kidero said Kenyan roads were full of untrained and inexperienced riders most of whom end up as part of statistics for road accidents and death.
He said the situation could be brought under control if industry players worked together to ensure compliance with the appropriate regulations.
“The government, through NTSA and other agencies should come up with mechanisms of training our riders. Most of these deaths and accidents are avoidable,” he said.
Kidero spoke at Kochia in Homa Bay county following the death of Joseph Ong’ondo, brother to renowned Nairobi-based businessman Tom Ong’ondo.
Ong’ondo died on Saturday after a speeding boda boda rider hit him as he tried to cross a road.
He broke his skull and sustained other fatal injuries during the accident.
The ex-city boss spoke against the backdrop of rising cases of accidents and deaths across the country.
The latest statistics by NTSA show that 3,358 people died of road accidents between January 1 and September 13 this year.
This is an increase of 236 from the same period last year, representing a 7.6 per cent increase.
Pedestrians accounted for the highest number of road accident victims at 1,208 as of September 13, compared to 1,085 same time last year.
Some 903 motorcyclists have lost their lives on the road, an increase of 4.2 per cent same period in 2021, NTSA disclosed.
Human error, reckless driving, and speeding have mostly been blamed for the high number of road crashes.
Kidero expressed concern that many people were losing their lives due to accidents involving motorbikes.
He urged the law enforcement agencies to move with speed to contain the situation before it gets out of hand.
He said it was possible to contain the situation if only the riders undertook the necessary required training and complied with traffic requirements while on the road.
