Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen has called on Kenyans traveling across the country during the festive season to help curb the increasing number of road accidents.
Speaking on Thursday, December 15, Murkomen indicated that as passengers, Kenyans are key players in preventing road accidents and urged them to help the government reduce road incidents.
The CS was addressing the press at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot where he also ordered Kenya Railways to increase the number of trains ferrying passengers and goods to Kisumu to ease congestion on the roads.
“Why are passengers allowing a driver that is misbehaving on the road to an extent of cheering them on?” the CS wondered.
“Kenyans should not keep quiet when a driver is committing traffic offenses,” Murkomen added.
According to Murkomen, passengers must call out any driver who is either overspeeding or drunk driving before a catastrophe happens.
“Should the driver fail to comply with the demands, passengers should promptly report him to the police and subsequently alight from the vehicle,” he remarked.
Murkomen underscored the importance of coordination between the general public and security agencies in reducing traffic incidents, especially during this festive season.
“Citizens can help us achieve more enforcement if everyone takes responsibility in making sure existing traffic rules are followed by everyone,” Murkomen beseeched the general public.
The statement from the CS coincided with a nationwide crackdown by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and traffic police officers against rogue drivers on Kenyan roads.
“We are deeply concerned by the high number of accidents in the country and to address this, we have launched a major crackdown on our roads targeting all defective vehicles,” the Ministry of Transport announced in a statement.
The ministry noted that there has been an increase in the number of fatal accidents across the country involving Public Service Vehicles most of which are due to speeding.
Furthermore, NTSA revived its annual Usalama Barabarani campaign that aims at reducing accidents during the festive season while listing six fatal behaviors that drivers should avoid to keep roads safe.
Among the six behaviors identified by NTSA include speeding, lane indiscipline, drunk driving, driver fatigue, stalled vehicles on the road without warning, and failure to follow road signs.
