The Motorist Association of Kenya (MAK) has called for the cancellation of licences of truck drivers and fleet operators who do not adhere to road safety regulations.
Speaking through a phone call to Kenyans.co.ke on Sunday, August 24, the MAK Chairman, Peter Murima, claimed that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) should emulate other countries, which cancel licences of truck drivers who commit offences, which in turn endanger the lives of other motorists.
Murima, who was responding to the recent mishap involving a truck and a matatu along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway on Saturday night, claimed that NTSA should also take action against fleet managers and drivers who fail to take their vehicles for inspections and servicing, which he noted are key contributors to the rising rates of road mishaps in the country.
"We would recommend drastic action because there are some incidents when some drivers are not only reckless. There are some instances when NTSA cancels a driver's licence for six months. through the court process, but when you even look in other countries, you find that the licences of such drivers are cancelled completely," Murima said.
"When you are driving a commercial vehicle, unlike a private vehicle, you are supposed to be very responsible on the road, especially during a time when there is an increase in Kenyans losing their lives from truck incidents along major roads," he added.
MAK has further said that the NTSA should also direct fleet drivers to engineer an in-house code of conduct, which they should present to the authority, such that if a driver commits an offence contrary to the code of conduct and the company fails to take action against him, the authority can take action against the whole company.
Murima, on the other hand, claimed that truck drivers should stand their ground and ensure that they call out their fleet managers whenever concerns about a vehicle go unaddressed.
Truck drivers are to stand their ground and call out fleet managers whenever their concerns about a vehicle go unaddressed, according to Murima.
"NTSA should, with immediate effect, ask the fleet managers to present the code of conduct of their drivers, because every transport company is required by NTSA to have its own self-disciplinary measures, which are in the code," Murima said.
"Some of these incidents that are happening are due to the negligence of the fleet managers, even when drivers complain of a certain problem. If a driver raises concern, the company should not ignore it; it should take action and even reward the driver," he added.
The statement by Murima comes hours after 15 people sustained injuries after a trailer fell on a matatu at the Kibarani area along the busy Mombasa-Nairobi Highway on Saturday, August 23.
According to the Red Cross, which confirmed the incident, five individuals in the matatu were in critical condition, while the eight others suffered minor injuries.
"A road traffic incident involving a PSV matatu and a cargo container has occurred at Kibarani, just after Ug Holdings, Mombasa County. We are on the ground responding alongside a multi-agency response team," Red Cross stated.
