National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) on Friday announced that it would soon require all Matatu drivers and conductors to undergo a mandatory first aid training.
NTSA director general Francis Meja stated that the move was necessary in order to equip them with the skills to become handy at an accident scene.
He further explained that the operators were often the first people arriving at an accident scene, even ahead of an ambulance.
"This will help to boost the response times, as a driver of the next vehicle to arrive at an accident scene can stop and provide first aid until an ambulance arrives then proceed with their journey," stated Meja.
A typical Kenyan ambulance, on the other hand, takes roughly nine minutes after an alert to arrive at an accident scene.
During the address in Nairobi, the director further divulged that the authority also intended to review the industry’s curriculum and road safety rules enacted in 1971.
"We are also putting in place a standardised curriculum for all driving schools across the country to ensure uniformity of what is being taught.
"The authority shall develop the curriculum for training and testing the drivers and instructors and all driving instructions shall be in accordance with the approved curriculum," he continued.
In the 10 months beginning January 2018, more than 2,500 people have died as a result of road accidents.
NTS, however,r blames the high number of accidents on inadequate footbridges and failure by road users to observe traffic rules.
