EDITORIAL
On Sunday, September 28, 16 members of a Murang’a family set out for Nakuru to visit their relatives.
But their joy was shattered by a freak accident when their 14-seater matatu smashed into an oncoming truck in Gilgil, killing almost everybody on board.
The family is obviously devastated by the heartbreaking calamity that has plucked out the young and old in one unforgettable sweep.
The families surely need financial and counselling support to deal with the loss and grief.
But we must at this juncture demand answers from the National Transport and Safety Authority.
Why must as many as 12,000 people die on the roads each year and nothing happens? The conditions of the roads might be a contributing factor, but the drivers behind the wheel make the decision to overtake or not to overtake.
Why should so many people die just because the quality of the decisions they make while on the roads is so low as to cause so much pain to so many people?
An urgent overhaul of the driver testing mechanism must now be reviewed.
The NTSA must get out of this indifference and crack the whip on driver incompetence and reckless driving.
Matatu drivers must surely go through two refresher defensive driving courses each year.
Quote of the day: “Do your duty and leave the rest to heaven.” —French poet and dramatist Pierre Corneille died on October 1, 1684
